Surviving the Dead
by Patrick the Fan
Summary: The Total Drama gang are thrown unexpectedly into a zombie apocalypse. Led by Shawn, the contestants try to fight their way through the undead, in search of a safe place to call home. Will they survive, or be the dead's next meal? My first story and I suck at summaries. Rated M for violence, language, graphic sexual content, and some otherwise unnerving scenes.
1. The Beginning

Chapter 1: The Beginning

 **A/N: Hey guy, how's it going? I've had this idea in my head for a good while now, and I think** **it's time to actually put it up for everyone to see. There aren't many zombie-related Total** **Drama fan fictions out there, so I thought I'd help contribute by adding a new one. Now, this** **story doesn't have a specific main character, but Shawn is the leader, so I guess you could say** **he's the main character. This story will mainly focus on the group as a whole, but every now** **and then, some characters will have their own little scenes. Oh, also, Duncan is still in prison** **when the outbreak occurs, so he will not be featured in this story. Or will he? HAHA! Well, I** **think I've rambled enough. On with the story!**

It was a warm summer day in central Canada, and the sun was just getting ready to set. To the contestants of Total Drama, today was a special day, as the seventh season of Total Drama had come to a close. All fifty contestants were relaxing at Playa des Losers, waiting to return home after an exhausting and drama-filled season. This season's lucky winner was Brick, with Bridgette coming in as the runner-up. Brick was walking around the playa, hands in his pockets.

"I still can't believe that I won two million dollars!" Brick exclaimed happily to Shawn, who was walking beside him."I'm sure your mom's very proud of you," complimented Shawn.

"I know my dad was when I won the million back in season six."Shawn and Brick walked to the main pool area where all of the ex-contestants were relaxing, talking, and just enjoying themselves (except Duncan, who was still serving a prison sentence for blowing up Chris's cottage/mansion in season five). The duo walked over to Jasmine, Mike, and Zoey, who were hanging out by the buffet table.

"What's up, guys?" asked Brick when he and Shawn reached the three.

"Not much Brick," replied Zoey. "We're just waiting for Chris. He said that he's got an important announcement to say before we are sent back home or something like that."

"Well, whatever it is, I hope it's quick. Cause I'm really hopin' to catch the first flight back Australia," said Jasmine. "I really can't wait to see my mum and dad again."

"Don't worry, Jaz," said Shawn, patting his unbelievably tall girlfriend on the back. "We'll be outta here soon."

"Will you come visit me in Australia?" she asked.

"Yeah, definitely! I just need to take care of some stuff at home, and then I'll catch the first flight possible," nodded Shawn. Jasmine bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"All right! I'll be waitin' for ya!" the Aussie exclaimed.

"Hey guys, I think Chris is gonna say something," said Mike, pointing towards the main pool area. The five teens stopped talking and looked over towhere Mike was pointing. Indeed, Chris had walked out with Chef and looked like he was going to begin speaking. The five teens proceeded to walk over where all of the other ex-contestants were. In Chris's hands, he held the briefcase that contained the two million dollars that now belonged to Brick.

"It is my honor to reward Brick the ultimate prize in Total Drama: two million dollars!" Chris proclaimed proudly, as he motioned Brick to come over to him. With mostly everyone applauding or cheering, Brick marched confidently up to the host. The cadet took the case full of money and said, "Thanks Chris, it feels great to be the winner."

"Whatcha gonna do with all that money?" asked Cody.

"He should split it with me!" proclaimed Jo.

"No, if he's gonna split it with anyone of us it should be me!" stated Heather. "In case you have forgotten, I was robbed back in season three. I DESERVE that money!"

"You are all incorrect!" shouted Max. "If he's going to split the two million dollars with anyone it should be ME! If Brick was wise, he would give the entire case to me this instant, or I will-" Max was interrupted by Scarlett, who had shoved a mango into Max's mouth to shut him up.

"Stop. Talking," the evil genius said coldly with an annoyed look on her face. Max could sense

the anger in her voice, so he nodded and removed the mango form his mouth, throwing it over

his shoulder.

"Well, as I was saying, it's awesome to be the winner, and it's been really fun this season," Brick continued, who had set the briefcase at his feet. His face soon lit up, as if an idea had sparked inhis mind. He turned to Chris. "Speaking of which, Chris, when's the next season?"

"You know what? I'm glad you reminded me," said the host. "Everyone, I have another major announcement. Due to the show's unbelievable success, I'm retiring early!" This earned many gasps from the audience. "That's right! Total Drama is coming to a permanent close. That means that you all will just go back to your normal, uninteresting lives, while I will spend the rest of my life living the life of a god!"

"Wait, I thought you said that you were gonna host the rest of your life, no matter how much money you make," Topher pointed out.

"True, but then I was handed a big-ass check with A LOT of zeroes, hehe," chuckled Chris.

"So does that mean I still have a shot at hosting something?" Topher asked hopefully.

"Uh no. The producers have sent e-mails and phone calls to every major hosting shows,warning them about what you tried to pull last season. Remember that?" Topher thought for a minute before slumping back into his seat, pouting with his arms crossed. "Anyway, to summarize, no more screen time and no more potential money for ANY of you."

"Well that's just great," complained Scott, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

"Would you rather go through more seasons of pure pain and misery just for the very slim chance of winning a large sum of money?" asked Gwen.

"YES! I'm THAT determined and I'm THAT stupid," replied the devious redneck, unashamed of what he just said.

"Ahem!" Chris cleared his throat. "I was talking! Anyway, you all will be taken to the airporttomorrow morning at 9 AM. After you reach your destination in Ottawa, you will be greeted by your families and go your separate ways or whatever. I could really care less. So with that being said, enjoy your last full day of relaxation! You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow! Now, I- Hey! Hey you! What are you doing here?" Chris was shouting at a person who was roaming around the hot tub like he was lost or something. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with short jet black hair. He was dressed in an intern's outfit, complete with a dark red shirt withlong white sleeves exiting from the short red sleeves, khaki pants, and black sneakers.

Chris shouted to the man again, "Hey Blake! Can you hear me?" Blake the intern didn'trespond, but once he heard Chris's voice, he slowly turned to face Chris and the gang. Upon inspection, everyone could see a large chunk of his neck missing, exposing the muscle and tissue underneath. There was also something wrong about his eyes: they were an odd mixture of colors, mainly dull green, mixed with dark yellow, as well as a small touch of black. He also had really pale skin.

"Um, is he all right?" asked Sky.

"I'm not really sure. Chris I thought that you said that you sent the interns away like two daysago?" Chef spoke up, looking confused and concerned. Chris looked up at Chef and responded with, "I did, but why is this one still here? Can someone, like, go check on him? And ask him if he needs a doctor or something?"

"I'll do it!" volunteered Staci. She stood up and walked over to the intern. "Yeah, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather invented the doctor profession. Before him, people just lived with disease and pain and-"Staci never got to finish her lie as when she got within grabbing distance, Blake grabbed a hold of the girl and sunk his teeth into the side of her neck. Staci began to scream with pain, as the intern ripped out her jugular artery with his teeth. This caused everyone to scream in horror.

"What the hell?! Did he just rip out her jugular?!" shouted Courtney, eyes wide with horror and hands of her cheeks. Before anyone could respond, a few people slowly emerged from the woods behind the resort. They all looked pale, and had wounds on their bodies similar to Blake's. One man had a large chunk of his left forearm missing, and two others had bite marks on their necks. It wasn't long before more and more people began to stumble out of the woods,moaning loudly as they did so.

"What the hell is this?" asked Chris. Unnoticed by anyone, Shawn's eyes had grown the size of dinner plates and his face had become completely pale. He began stammering words no one could understand.

"Z-zz-z-zzz-zz," he stammered over and over again. After a few moments, he had finally built up the nerve to shout, "ZOMBIES!" and ran faster than the Roadrunner into the main building of the resort.

"Wait, do you guys _really_ think that this is for real?" asked Heather, hands on her hips. "I mean, this is could just be an elaborate prank set up by Chris to scare us one last time."

"Normally, I would agree with you, _mi amor,_ but Staci's neck being torn open looked pretty real to me," replied Alejandro. Speaking of Staci, by this point, the zombified Blake and two other zombies had begun feasting on Staci's corpse.

Chef spoke up, saying, "Everyone! Get inside!" All of the teenagers sprang up and made a B-Line for the main building that Shawn had ran into. The building was a good one hundred feet away, and everyone was trying their best not to run into or be grabbed by the , Justin wasn't so lucky, as he accidentally ran into a zombie. The roamer then took are large bite into the model's shoulder, causing Justin to let out a scream of , two more zombies had joined in, and the four of them fell into the pool. All the while, the three zombies didn't stop gnawing on Justin, as they dragged the poor teen underwater, and soon blood began to cloud up the water.

Meanwhile, Chris, Chef, Jo, Trent, B, Lightning, Jasmine, Gwen, Harold, and Brick had alreadymade it inside. As Brick ran thought the ajar twin doors, he used the briefcase full of money to smack a zombie across the face. Soon after, Geoff, Bridgette, Sky, Beardo, and Alejandro and Heather and safely made it inside, the latter of the bunch being carried by Alejandro bridal style. Jasmine looked over and caught a glimpse of Shawn. He was sitting in one of the far corners of the room in a fetal position. Jasmine ran over to her boyfriend and crouched down to his level.

"Shawn! Shawn! Snap out of it! Help us barricade the place up!" She tried clapping her hands a couple of times but this didn't help. She then tried snapping her fingers in front of his face, but no response. She then thought of an idea. She gave him a kiss on the lips, and just like that, Shawn snapped back into reality.

"What? What happened?" Shawn asked.

"Apparently there are zombies outside, and we need your help, like NOW!" Jasmine declared. Shawn took in what she had said, and remembered why he had crouched in the corner in the first place.

"Z-Zombies? Huh, not on MY watch!" said the zombie prepper. He sprang to his feet and ranstraight towards the entrance. He immediately began spitting out orders. "Chef, B! Take that couch over there and put it against this window." The cook and the silent genius did as they were instructed and picked up the leather sofa that Shawn had pointed to, and proceeded topick it up and place it against one of the large front windows. "Sky, Geoff, Lightning! You three move those love seats over here and place them against this window!" The trio quickly ran and got the two love seats that were by the sofa that Chef and B had moved just a few moments ago. They then placed them against another one of the main front that point, Rodney, Mike, Zoey, Cameron, Dawn, Scarlett, DJ, and Ezekiel (who was now back to his normal self) had made it inside.

"Anything we can do to help?" asked Rodney.

"Yes, actually," replied Shawn. "Go downstairs to the basement and try to get as manybludgeons and melee weapons as you can find and bring them up here." With that, Rodney,Mike, DJ, Scarlett and Harold ran to the basement door and disappeared downstairs where the gardening tools were kept. Shawn turned to Zoey, Dawn, Cameron, and Ezekiel. "As for you guys, I want you to stay here and inform people as they come in to start putting furniture and whatever else they can to place against the windows. Got it?" The four nodded in , Courtney, Scott, Sugar, Beth, Sam, Izzy, LeShawna, and a now normal-sized Dakota came running through the doors.

"MAKE WAAAAYYY!" came a voice from outside. Sierra came sprinting through the doors, carrying Cody over her shoulder. "There you go, Codykins! You're safe now!" She set Cody down and gave him a bear hug.

"Sierra. Sierra, I can't breathe," choked out Cody, due to the fan girl hugging him so tight. All of a sudden, Tyler and Lindsay came running in, holding hands, and soon came Noah, Sammy,Amy, Ella, Anne Maria, and Eva. Shawn scanned the room."Who else are we still missing?"

"Leonard, Dave, Max, Owen, Katie, and Sadie," replied Sammy.

"I saw Max go down," said Anne Maria, pointing back where they had come.

"Yeah, and I think I saw Dave climb up on top of the shed where we keep the pool floats," said Amy. Shawn looked outside, and saw that Amy was right. Even with Leonard, Katie, Sadie, and Owen still trying to make their way inside, as well as the dozens of zombies roaming around, he could see a familiar germaphobe was sitting on top of the pool shed, just like the evil cheerleader twin had said. Eventually, everyone else had made it in inside. Also, Rodney and hissmall group had made it back upstairs with various machetes, knives, and other outside tools.

"These are all of the ones we could find," stated Harold.

"Okay good," said Shawn. He immediately turned to Owen and said, "Owen, I want you to run

into the kitchen and collect as many knives as you can." Owen gave a salute and ran off to findthe kitchen. Shawn turned back to Rodney and company and said, "Go around and start passing out weapons. Jasmine! Shut the doors, and Sam and Izzy, Barricade them with that sofa!"Everyone did as they were told, and within minutes, the doors were blocked, and everyone had at least one melee weapon (including the knives Owen had brought from the kitchen).

"Okay, can someone PLEASE tell me that this isn't real?" asked Katie, who was clutching Sadie.

"I wish that I could, but I think that this is for real," said Shawn, hands in his vest pockets. "The weapons that Rodney and the others had passed out are yours from this moment in. Do NOT lose them and keep them close." He then rested his newly equipped machete on his shoulder.

"Wait, so, if this is real, is this happening elsewhere too?" Tyler questioned.

"I believe so, yes," stated Shawn, who then turned to Chris. "Chris, turn on the TV. Maybe wecan get some intel about this." The host walked over to the giant flat-screen television and turned it on. The screen displayed nothing but the Emergency Broadcast bars, accompanied bythe iconic "beeeep" that blared without end. Chris turned off the television after a couple of minutes.

"Well, that's fantastic," he muttered, tossing the remote onto the floor, which shattered to bits. "Without any news, how can we know what's going on?"

"Chris, I'm gonna be up front with you: if Shawn thinks that this may be global, then it's gotta be," said Chef, who was armed with a large machete with jagged teeth running along the spine.

"So what do we do now?" asked a nervous Beth.

"We gotta get back to mainland. We can try to make it to my bunker I had built with mywinnings from season six," said Shawn. "My bunker is deep in the woods outside Toronto, and unfortunately, it's designed only for four people, but I've been stockpiling on guns and ammo for the past couple of years, so we should be all right by then."

"Sounds good, but only one problem: how the hell are we gonna save Dave and get past all ofthose zombies?" asked LeShawna. After thinking for a good few minutes, Shawn replied:

"I have an idea."

 **Whew! First chapter finished.** **I will try my best to update as often as I can. Also, in** **this story, "The Ridonculous Race" never happened. However, I will include a few characters** **from that later on in the story.**

 **Alive: Chris, Chef, Shawn, Sky, Jasmine, Topher, Leonard, Ella, Beardo, Dave, Scarlett, Rodney,** **Amy, Sammy, Sugar, Alejandro, Sierra, Tyler, DJ, Harold, Heather, Gwen, Trent, Owen,** **Lindsay, Eva, LeShawna, Bridgette, Katie, Sadie, Courtney, Ezekiel, Beth, Izzy, Noah, Mike,** **Zoey, Dawn, B, Cameron, Lightning, Anne Maria, Dakota, Scott, Brick, Jo, Sam**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max**


	2. The Escape

Chapter 2: The Escape

 **Hey guys, what's up? The second chapter is up! I don't have much to say, so let's get to it!**

"Okay, here's what's gonna happen," explained Shawn. Everyone formed a semi-circle around Shawn to listen to what he had to say. "Amy, didn't you say that Dave's still stuck outside?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Chris, are there any boats here?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah, seven I think. They can hold eight people each," he explained. During the season seven finale, Brick and Bridgette had to race boats around the island **[1],** while at the same time, battling each other with nets full of fish in order to knock the other person off of their respective boats.

"Great. All right, how far are they from here?" asked Shawn.

"Not very far. If we exit through the rear, there's a small deck where they're tied up about fifty feet away," continued the host. Shawn remained silent for a moment, before saying, "Okay. If we're gonna save Dave, a few of us are gonna have to cover ourselves in zombie guts, sneak through the crowd, and get him down. In the meantime, everyone else will gather their stuff and wait here. If the zombies break through the barricades, hold them off for as long as you can."

"What if there are too many of them?" asked an unsure Owen.

"If they break through for any reason, start heading towards the boats," answered Shawn. He turned to Chef. "Do we have any walkie-talkies?"

Chef, as if out of nowhere, handed the zombie-obsessed teenager a pair of pocket-sized walkie-talkies.

"Wow, sweet!" exclaimed Shawn. He then handed one of them to Alejandro. "Alejandro, I'm leaving you in charge of getting everyone to the boats when I say the word."

"Will do, amigo," said the Latin.

"I'll go out and get Dave. Geoff, I want you to back me up while I'm out there," added Shawn. The party animal looked a little nervous and scared, but ultimately said, "Cool." Although, he didn't seem too enthusiastic. Suddenly, Sky spoke up.

"Wait, Shawn, I want to go too," she said.

"What? Are you crazy?" asked Lindsay. "You'll like totally get ripped open."

"I want to. I…I feel like I owe it to Dave. I still feel guilty about not telling him about me having a boyfriend back in season six," stated Sky.

"You mean Keith?" Scott smirked.

"Shut up, Scott!" Sky snapped at the dirt farmer. "Anyway, I want to come with you, Shawn."

Shawn looked at the gymnast with confusion for a moment, but shrugged his shoulders and said, "All right, you can come. But you and Geoff will have to follow everything I say." He looked at the back door, which was at the end of a long hallway. He silently left the group and proceeded towards the long corridor. Once he reached the back door, he unlocked the door and quickly flung it open. He swiftly drove his machete into a zombie's head and dragged the corpse inside. After locking the door back, he dragged the dead zombie into the nearest restroom.

"Geoff, Sky. Get in here," he commanded. The two followed their de facto leader into the restroom. After they stepped through the door, Shawn poked his head out the doorway. "Bridgette, I need you to go up to your room and strip the sheets off of your bed, and get an extra one from the closet. Tear a large hole in center of three of them and bring them to us. We'll cover them in zombie blood and use them to walk amongst the dead."

"O-Okay," stuttered the surfer girl. Quick as a flash, Bridgette ran off to find the nearest elevator. Shawn then ordered Chef and Chris to find the power box in the basement and shut off all of the lights.

"The darkness will confuse them. This, coupled with the fact that night has already fallen, will help benefit our chances of not being noticed. Geoff, grab the zombie by the legs and help me put it in that shower stall over there."

Soon, the entire building was pitch black and devoid of power, and a few zombies had already begun to roam away from the windows. In the restroom, Geoff and Shawn had laid the zombie in the corner of one of the shower stalls. The creature had a large hole in its abdomen, where Shawn had dissected it to remove its organs. Luckily, there was a drain in the center of the stall, so most of the blood on the ground didn't bother them that much. The trio was now wearing the bedsheets that Bridgette had retrieved for them. The holes that Shawn had Bridgette cut were to slip the sheets over their heads with ease. The bedsheets that used to be white were now completely drenched in zombie blood and covered with entrails.

"Make no sound as we walk through them," warned Shawn as he rubbed zombie blood on his cheeks.

"Can't we, like, go through them without having to put this stuff on our faces?" Sky questioned. While she was not against wearing a bedsheet-poncho drench in blood and organs (since it wouldn't be touching her clothing), she wasn't very happy about rubbing a dead person's blood on her clean face.

"Yeah, I agree with Sky. I really don't wanna do this," added Geoff.

Shawn gave his two companions an irritated look. "Better safe than sorry" was all he said.

The two looked at each other hesitantly, before complying and dipping their hands in the zombie's open torso. Their hands now soaked with rotten, smelly blood, they lifted their hands up to their faces and began applying it everywhere. They smothered their faces until they were totally covered in a matter of minutes, but not without a softly complaining about how unsanitary this was. Afterward, the three young adults stood up and exited the bathroom, leaving the zombie where it was.

"Jesus Christ!" complained Noah, covering his nose. "You guys stink!"

"Yeah, I'll say! You guys smell worse than my outhouse on a July afternoon!" added Ezekiel, who also had both of his hands over his nose and mouth. Shawn looked at the others confidently, while Geoff and Sky hung around in the background, still feeling a little uncomfortable about the blood on their faces.

"Okay, we're going to get Dave now," informed Shawn. He gazed at Alejandro and added, "Keep that thing on hand, Alejandro. Once we get Dave, I'll radio you to start getting everyone to the boats." The Latin responded with a simple nod. "Also, by that point, everyone needs to have their personal belongings ready to go." He turned around to face Sky. "Ready?"

"Totally," the gymnast said promptly.

"What about you Geoff? Are you ready?"

Geoff looked at the two, then to his friends (particularly Bridgette) before saying, "Yeah…Yeah, totally." There was a large hint of fear and uncertainty in his otherwise happy-go-lucky voice.

"All right. Let's go," motioned Shawn towards the back door. The three began to make their way down the dark corridor, but Geoff was stopped when he felt an arm grab his. He turned to see Bridgette standing there, tears beginning to form in her green eyes.

"Be careful," his girlfriend instructed with a very worried expression on her beautiful face.

"You know I will," Geoff said back before planting a small kiss on Bridgette's cheek, trying not to get blood on her face. After a small moment of staring into her eyes, Geoff tuned away and tried to catch up to his friends.

When they had reached the door, Shawn asked, "Ready?" one last time. Both Sky and Geoff nodded silently. With his machete at the ready, he glanced at them with their weapons ready as well (Geoff had a shovel, and Sky had a hatchet).

"One…two…THREE!" shouted Shawn, and he twisted the doorknob, running outside into the damp night with Geoff and Sky close behind him. The entire area was practically drowned with the undead, with no visible light minus the light of the moon. Geoff, holding his shovel close to his body, whispered, "Where's Dave?"

Sky looked through the herd, trying to locate her former flame. When this failed, she tried peering over the zombies' heads, and to her luck, she spotted Dave. He was still sitting on top of the pool shed, hugging his knees. "I see him! He's over there!" she told Shawn, pointing in Dave's direction.

"Nice. Let's move, but keep quiet," instructed Shawn. The trio began to slowly walk through the zombie crowd, trying their best not to draw any attention to themselves. _'I still can't believe that this is real,'_ he thought. Shawn had always known that a zombie uprising was inevitable, but he never expected it to happen now, and he certainly didn't know that he would be walking amongst the dead while being covered in blood and guts.

Meanwhile, back at the lodge, Mike and Cameron were looking out one of the windows, in hopes of finding Shawn and company.

"Can you see them?" asked Alejandro.

"Nnnoooo," said Mike, but his face soon lit up with excitement. "No wait! I see them! They're over there! They're almost to the shed!" True to Mike's word, Shawn, Sky, and Geoff were just fifteen feet away from Dave's spot. Alejandro pushed the two friends aside so he could get a better view. After a minute, he could clearly see three familiar shapes moving through the dead in such an organized fashion, it was obvious that the shapes were human. He could barely see them due to the darkness outside and inside the lodge.

" _Fabuloso_ ," he whispered to himself. He moved away from the window and shouted, "Everyone! Everyone, gather around!" Everyone broke away from their individual conversations to listen to Alejandro. "Run up to your rooms and start packing what you need, and ONLY what you need. Shawn should radio us at any moment now, so make it quick."

"Is my honey bear okay?" worried Bridgette.

"Yes _, chica_ ," responded the Latin as he placed a reassuring hand on the surfer's shoulder. "They're all okay. What are you waiting for? GO!" Each and every one of teens ran off to the elevators and stairs. Alejandro made a dash for one of the back stairways, and ran all the way up to the third floor where he and Heather shared a room. He sprinted down the long fancy hallway until he stopped at his room. He noticed that the door was already swung open, so he stepped in and saw Heather packing some clothes into a duffel bag. Alejandro walked over to their closet to retrieve his hiking backpack when he heard a whisper from the walkie-talkie.

" _Alejandro, Alejandro, you there?"_ Alejandro reached down into his pocket and pulled out the small walkie-talkie.

"Yeah, I'm here. Have you guys reached Dave?"

" _Yes. Sky's climbing up onto the roof to help him get covered. Have you told the fellas to get their stuff together?"_

"Yes, I have."

" _You have? Great! We should be finished here in a few minutes, hopefully,"_ he heard Shawn say on the other end.

"All right, but hurry." With that final statement, Alejandro stuffed the thing back into his pocket, and slung the backpack on his back once he was finished packing. He turned off the lights, and ran down the hallway to catch up to Heather. "Heather! Slow down!"

Back outside, Geoff and Shawn were keeping watch, while Sky sat on the tiled roof, trying to convince Dave to cover himself with blood.

"Nuh-uh. No WAY am I gonna put blood on me!" Dave protested.

"You have to, Dave. It's the only way we can walk through them without being noticed," Sky tried to reason with him. She reached over the edge of the roof, and drove her hatchet into the top of a zombie's skull. With all her might, she lifted the dead monster up and placed it between her and Dave. Sky then took her weapons and started to cut the zombie's abdomen open, causing dark blood to pour out. Dave had to turn away and cover his mouth and nose to avoid vomiting. Once he regained composure, the germaphobe turned to see that Sky had already removed the creature's main organs (mainly its stomach and entrails).

"I'm sorry Sky, but do you KNOW how disgusting that stuff is? It's full of germs, and it smells like rotten meat!" he continued to complain. Sky didn't have time for his cowardice. She closed her eyes, grabbed Dave by the cheeks, and pulled him in for a kiss. Dave couldn't believe what was happening, but he just went along with it. After a couple of seconds (well, it seemed like an eternity to Dave), Sky pulled back and she saw that she had gotten a few smudges of blood on Dave's cheeks. Fortunately, Dave was still stunned by the kiss to even notice. "You…You k-kissed me!"

"I did it so you'd cooperate," said Sky bluntly. She wasn't trying to sound mean, but it just came out like that. Dave looked a little upset, but without a moment's hesitation, he dipped his hands inside the zombie's open torso. He soon began to unceremoniously rub his hands on his face, neck, and arms. Sky was visibly shocked, her mouth forming an O-shape; this was so sudden, because what Dave was doing completely went against everything that he stood for.

After he was finished, Dave whispered, "All right, let's get out of here." Sky's face returned to normal, but with a smile this time instead of a look of irritation. She leaned over the ledge and whispered, "Shawn! He's ready!" Shawn nodded and nudged Geoff, non-verbally telling him it's time to go. Sky and Dave hopped of the shed , and soon the four formed somewhat of a line to get past the zeds.

Shawn reached under his bedsheet poncho and pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Alejandro, Dave's all covered, and we're making our way back," the zombie prepper whispered, trying his best to not bring a lot of attention to him and his group.

" _Bien. Everyone's back down in the lobby with their stuff. How far are you from here?"_ he heard Alejandro say on the other end.

"Not very far. Just a couple of yards, I think," he responded. Unknown to Shawn and the others, a lone zombie had taken a small interest in Dave and began following him.

Dave lightly tapped Sky on the shoulder. "Sky. Sky! This one won't stop following me!" he whispered with a small hint of fear in his tone. The gymnast turned to look at him.

"That's probably because you didn't put enough blood on you," she reasoned. "Here, get in front of me. With you being in the center, and with us on the outside, you won't be noticed much because we have more stuff on us than you." Dave did as he was told and swapped places with Sky. Now, Shawn and Geoff were sharing the front, Dave was in the center, and Sky took the rear. But things didn't get better form there; another zombie had joined the previous zombie in stalking Dave. With two specific zombies following them, Dave started to panic just a bit.

"Sky, I don't like this. Are we get-" Dave felt something grab his left arm and in mere seconds, he felt a sharp pain rush throughout his body. He looked over and to his horror, he saw that one of the two stalker zombies had bitten him a couple of centimeters form his wrist.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" screamed Dave. He watched as the other zombie joined in and began to rip apart his upper left arm. His screams were so loud that every zombie within a hundred-foot radius could hear it.

His screams of pain and terror alerted Shawn and Geoff, and the former screamed into his walkie-talkie: "AL! We've been compromised! Get the others out of there!" Shawn quickly decapitated a zombie that was lunging towards him.

Alejandro cringed at his despised nickname before saying, "On it!" He shoved the walkie-talkie back into his pocket and commanded, "Guys, let's go! Head to the dock!" He sprinted towards the back door, with the cast at his heels. In one swift movement, Alejandro kicked the door open, and stood by the doorway as each person came running out one by one. Each one had a backpack or duffel bag of personal belongings on their back. Chef was the last one to exit, and he had a Remington 870 Police Magnum shotgun **[2]** in his hands, along with a small bag of guns slung on his back,

"All right, I think that's everyone. Let's get the hell out of here," said the black cook, cocking his shotgun.

"Um, where did you get those?" questioned Alejandro, pointing to Chef's gun as well as the bag of guns on his back.

"Well, ever since the psycho killer incident back in season one, I really didn't wanna take any chances," responded Chef. He reached into his little bag of weapons, and pulled out two silver Colt 1911 handguns with black grips. He handed the two shiny guns to the cunning Latin. "Get the others to the boats. I'll find Shawn and the others." With that being said, Chef ran off, shooting zombies as he went.

Speaking of Shawn, he, Geoff, and Sky were now trying to move the injured Dave to safety. Geoff smacked another zombie across the face with shovel. "Dudes, we need to hurry up if we're gonna make it," he said.

"Oh God, It…It hurts…sooo m-m-much," sniffled Dave, tears streaming down his cheeks. "W-W-What's gonna happen to me? Am I gonna die? A-Am I gonna turn into one of them?" He looked at Sky.

"Uh, of course not. You're gonna be fine," she lied. "Right, Shawn?"

Shawn drove his machete into another zombie's head before saying, "Uh, yeah! Totally! You're gonna be okay, pal, okay? When we get to safety, we'll perform an amputation. Everything's gonna be all right." Shawn went back to slaughtering zombies. _'If only that was true,'_ he thought. He knew very well that one of the zombies had bitten Dave extremely high on his upper arm, very close to his shoulder. If one was to attempt an amputation THAT high, the victim would definitely not survive.

All of a sudden, Shawn and his crew heard gunshots go off in the air. They looked ahead and saw Chef blasting his way through the horde. When eventually reached the group, he immediately began reloading his shotgun.

"Where did you get that?" asked Shawn. Chef just reached into his bag and pulled out a Remington 870 Police Magnum identical to his and handed it to the prepper.

"No time to explain. Just run!" The five of them started to run through the now slightly smaller horde towards the back of the resort, where everyone else was heading. Everyone contributed to killing as many rotters as they ran, except for Dave, who was still leaning against Sky and clutching his arm. Sadly though, today was not Dave's day. A zombie came up and grabbed the scrawny teen by the waist and pulled him back just a bit. Dave began screaming again, but the zombie had already begun to tear into his neck with its teeth.

"NOOOOOO!" screamed Sky. Shawn, Geoff and Chef turned to see that Sky was still clutching Dave's hand as three more zombies joined the feeding. Geoff, without thinking, ran up to Sky, trying to make her let go, as the commotion was just attracting more of the undead. After what seemed like forever, Sky reluctantly let go of Dave's hand and turned to run away with the other three. Dave was then pinned to the ground and within seconds, he could not be seen anymore, as the dead quickly surrounded him to devour their latest meal.

The four turned the corner and saw that Alejandro had successfully gotten everyone into the speed boats. Like Chris had said, each boat held between four and eight people in them. Here's how it was laid out:

 **First Boat: Jasmine, Amy, Sammy, and Bridgette.**

 **Second Boat: Harold, Cody, Sierra, Sugar, Scott, LeShawna, Heather, and Alejandro.**

 **Third Boat: Mike, Zoey, Cameron, Trent, Leonard, Izzy, Katie, and Sadie.**

 **Fourth Boat: Gwen, Tyler, Lindsay, Ella, Noah, and Dawn.**

 **Fifth Boat: Beardo, Scarlett, Anne Maria, Rodney, Topher, Beth, Courtney, and Jo.**

 **Sixth Boat: Lightning, Eva, Brick, DJ, Dakota, Sam, B, and Ezekiel.**

Sky jumped into Ella's boat, while Shawn, Chef, and Geoff hopped into the first boat. Geoff went up and hugged Bridgette tightly before planting a big kiss on her lips. As for Shawn, he walked up to Jasmine, but when he attempted to hug her, she picked him up and spun him around with joy.

"Thank God you're okay!" exclaimed Jasmine happily, placing her boyfriend back on his feet. She noticed that Shawn was looking a little uneasy, and asked, "Hon, what's wrong?"

"They… They got Dave," and didn't say anything else after that. He looked around the boat. "Wait a minute, where are Chris and Owen?" He looked around at all of the other boats and repeated the question, "Have you guys seen Chris and Owen?"

Everyone shook their heads or shrugged their shoulders. Shawn turned to Amy and Sammy. "Girls, did you see those two anywhere?" Both twins shook their heads. Suddenly, Shawn heard DJ shouting from his boat.

"Hey, Shawn! I see them!" he was pointing in the direction of the resort. The leader turned to DJ's direction, and then turned to face the spa. Chris and Owen had just exited the building, each carrying not one, but two large duffel bags on their backs.

"Chris, * _gasp_ * I * _gasp_ * don't think * _gasp_ * we're * _gasp_ * gonna make it," panted Owen.

"Yes we are!" shouted the host. Chef then got an idea: he reached into his bag and pulled out a Heckler and Koch USP pistol.

"Chris! Head's up!" the cook aimed the pistol at Chris and threw the gun over to Chris as hard as he could. Chris caught the gun perfectly, and began shooting at the zombies one by one. "Shawn, start the engine. Everyone! Start your engines!" Chef yelled. Everyone simultaneously started their engines, which caused Chris to panic.

' _No, they can't leave. Not without ME of all people!_ ' thought Chris. An evil smirk then appeared on his face, and he turned to Owen. "Owen, give me your bags of food."

"What?"

"Just do it!" Chris barked. Owen submitted to the host and handed him the two bags of food he planned to take with him. Chris then began to spin around, and after a quick few seconds, hurled both bags onto Shawn's boat with great manpower. He looked at Owen one last time before saying, "Goodbye, Owen."

 _ **BANG!**_

Owen dropped to the ground dead, with a bullet hole exiting from his forehead. Chris was surrounded by so many zombies that it was nearly impossible for anyone to see what he had done. The self-centered host looked at Owen's dead body, and decided to flee before they got him too. Chris started to shoot his way through the crowd once again, until he ran out of ammunition. Luckily, he had reached Shawn's boat by that point.

"What happened to Owen?" asked Sammy.

"He got bitten by one of them, so I put a bullet in his head to put him out of his misery," Chris lied. Everyone looked at the ground in silence, in memory of their beloved friend. However, their mourning was short lived, as they were forced to flee the resort in their boats, as the undead were getting too close to them. As they sailed off into the night, none of them, not even Shawn, could predict what might lie ahead. All they could do was be thankful that they survived.

 ***Gasp* Oh my God. Chris killed Owen in cold blood. WHAT?! *Chuckle* Well, we all knew the lovable fat Canadian would go sometime right?**

 **[1]- I forgot to mention in the first chapter that the island that everyone competed on in season seven was Pahkitew Island.**

 **[2]- I am, like, a HUGE gun enthusiast, so throughout my story, almost every character's weapons will be EXTREMELY specific. For future reference, if you have no idea what any gun is if I mention it, please, feel free to look them up.**

 **Well, until next time, PEACE!**

 **Alive: Chris, Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Topher, Scarlett, Sugar, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Beardo, Leonard, Ella, Mike, Zoey, Scott, Brick, Sam, Dakota, Anne Maria, Lightning, Jo, B, Cameron, Dawn, Tyler, DJ, Harold, Izzy, Beth, Katie, Sadie, Geoff, Heather, Alejandro, Sierra, Cody, Noah, Eva, Lindsay, Trent, Gwen, Ezekiel, Bridgette, Courtney, LeShawna**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max, Dave, Owen**


	3. What Comes After

**I'm baaaaack! Haha, anyway, chapter three is up for your viewing pleasure. I apologize in advance if this chapter seems a little too boring. Like the Walking Dead, I'm trying to focus on the human feelings and drama, as well as the zombie action. I promise I'll try to make the next couple of chapters more interesting.**

The night never felt so dead. While the night was still young, it never felt so quiet, as if all the nocturnal creatures had retired or didn't even bother to proceed with their nightly activities. The only sounds that echoed in the black night were the roars of boat engines, which made the evening feel a little eerie. Accompanying the noise, were six lights that seemed to form a V-shape in the dark. These were the lights of six speed boats whizzing through the silent night, with the main boat being in the center of the V-shaped convoy. Shawn remained completely silent and stared blankly off the side of the boat while the other members of boat talked amongst each other.

"I can't believe that Dave and Owen are gone," Bridgette told Geoff, resting her head on his shoulder. While she didn't know Dave very well except for what she saw in during seasons six and seven, she couldn't help but feel a small sensation of sorrow within her heart.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to witness Dave's death firsthand. I had to literally drag Sky away from him before they got her too," said Geoff. Amy was already fast asleep, snoring loudly to the annoyance of her sister and everyone else aboard the boat.

"Ugh! Can someone PLEASE shut her up?" whispered Sammy, her fingers lodged in her ears. Chris reached into one of the bags of food he took from Owen and pulled out a Twinkie. Without a word, Chris tossed the sponge treat to Sammy, who immediately shoved it into her sister's mouth. She looked back at Chris and mouthed, 'Thank you.', but Chris didn't respond in any way and went back to whatever he was doing.

Over in Sky's boat, Sky was siting against the side of her boat, her face buried in her knees while she wept softly. Ella and Dawn were sitting on opposite sides of her, trying to comfort her.

"It's okay, Sky. Dave's in a better place now," reassured Ella.

"Yes, indeed. Dave may be gone, but he would want you to keep going," said Dawn, resting her hand on Sky's shoulder.

"But WHY? Why d-did he have t-to die?" asked Sky miserably between sniffles. She lifted her head to face Dawn. Her eyes were still leaking tears, and her eyes were bloodshot red. "I could have saved him, Dawn. I…I could…I could..." was all she could muster up before burying her face in her knees once more. Ella pulled out a handkerchief from her blouse and tapped Sky on the arm.

Sky saw her friend's offering and replied, "Oh *sniffle*, thank you Ella." Ella smiled warmly and Sky blew her little nose into the handkerchief. She tried to give it back after a couple of more blows, but Ella told her to keep it.

Back in the leading boat, Jasmine had noticed Shawn's strange behavior, so she walked over to him and asked, "Oy, Shawn. You okay?" She bent down and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. At first, Shawn was oblivious to Jasmine's warm embrace, but after a moment, he joined the real world again.

"Huh? What?" Oh, hey Jaz," he said. "I'm sorry, I was just…zoned out."

"What were ya thinkin' about?" his girlfriend asked. Shawn turned his head to Jasmine, revealing a slightly sad expression.

"I was thinking about basically everything. I mean, I always knew that the zombie apocalypse would happen someday, but still…wow." He paused, but he continued with, "I can't help but feel a little guilty about not getting Dave out of there alive. Also, I feel a little sad about losing Owen to those things."

Jasmine released him from her hug and said, "Hey, it's not your fault. You did what you could."

"Yeah, you did your best. And besides, Owen and Dave were gonna go sooner or later," added Chris.

Chef, who was currently the one driving the boat, turned his head to Chris. "Uh, what's THAT supposed to mean?"

Chris realized what he had said and tried to come up with a good reason. "Uh… well, think about it. Owen and Dave didn't really seem like the kind of people that would survive very long. I mean, how many zombie movies have you seen where the really fat guy or the scrawny wimp dies?" They always go first!" Shawn, Chef, and all the others tried to make sense of what he said. Even though what he said was rude and a little stereotypical, he was sadly correct. Dave and Owen were never really the athletic type, so despite the others not wanting to believe it, it was clear that Owen and Dave wouldn't last long even if they had survived the zombies.

"Well… I suppose you're right," said Chef before returning his attention to the front.

"Yeah," said Shawn. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Alejandro?"

" _¿Sí?_ " he heard Alejandro say on the other end.

"Tell whoever's driving your boat to stop. If you do that, the others will stop too," said Shawn.

" _¿Por qué?_ "

"Because I have something to say before we turn in for the night," responded Shawn. After shoving the walkie-talkie into his vest pocket, he walked up Chef. "Chef, stop the boat. I need to speak with everyone immediately." Without question, the cook turned off the engine and removed the keys from the ignition once the boat came to a stop.

Across the way, Shawn could see Alejandro's boat come to a slow stop. Then Sky's boat stopped. Shawn looked to his right to see the other three boats slowed down and eventually come to a stop as well.

"Brick! Courtney! Izzy! Drive your boats over hear so we can from a circle!" shouted Shawn to the other three speed boats. Brick gave a salute before starting up the engine again, backed it up, and pulled it over behind Shawn's boat. Courtney and Izzy did the same thing with their respective boats, but Izzy parked hers behind Alejandro and Sky's boats, and Courtney parked hers behind Brick and Izzy's boats, forming a strange circle of boats.

"Why are we sha-stoppin'?" asked Lightning.

"Shawn has something to say so shut up and listen!" shouted Chef, silencing the dimwitted jock.

"Thanks again Chef," said Shawn. "Anyway, I feel like I need to say something. I know that today wasn't as we had expected."

"Boy, I'll say," said Heather.

"Shut up and let the zombie boy speak," said LeShawna nonchalantly.

"As I was saying, today was pretty chaotic. We were attacked by zombies, we lost five people to those bastards, and possibly all civilization as we know it has collapsed. I know that we're still mourning over Owen…and Justin…and Staci…."

"Dave…" Sky said quietly, but loud enough for Shawn to pick it up.

He stared at the ground for a minute. Out of the five losses the group experienced that night, Shawn was present when Dave went down. Shawn had to admit, even though he and Dave's friendship didn't end well in season six (nor did it improve during season seven), he just couldn't help but feel bad for Sky. Not only that, but he felt bad for himself; he had failed to keep his word about getting Dave to safety, which tortured him inside.

"Y-Yeah. Even Dave. And Max too, even though nobody really gave a hoot about him," said their leader, breaking the silence. "Except Max, they were all good people who have now passed on. They no longer have to feel the fear of being killed every day. I'm not a perfect Christian, but I believe that we will see those people again someday. The only thing we can do now is push forward, hopefully, to find others like us and find or establish a safe place to call home. Whether we accomplish our goal, or die trying, at least we'll go down together. God forbid that we all go down, but we keep pushing forward until the very end! Who's with me?" Shawn threw his fist high in the air.

The night was soon filled with loud cheers and applause from the teens. Some of the teens who were really pessimistic or uncaring such as Noah, Heather, Eva, and Scarlett were clapping as well. Even Chef and Chris were clapping, although Chris was clapping half-heartedly. Chris totally believed in pushing on, but he really didn't trust Shawn completely. He zoned out from Shawn's perseverance speech and eventually became lost in his thoughts.

' _I know he's a zombie expert_ ,' thought the selfish host, ' _but that idiot doesn't know a THING about leadership! I mean, look at me! I hosted an international reality television show for seven successful seasons! If anyone should be leading this pack of brainless monkeys it should be ME! There are thousands of zombie movies out there; some zombies run, some stumble. Sometimes they're scared of fire, sometimes they're not. I mean, sure, the zombie camouflage worked perfectly. But besides that, Shawn should step aside a let a REAL leader take charge. Just because the zombies have risen, he thinks that since he knows everything about them that he should be the one in power. He'd be lucky if_ -' his selfish thoughts were interrupted by someone shaking his shoulders.

"Chris? Did you hear?" It was Chef.

"Oh, uh, what? I was lost for a minute there," lied Chris.

"Shawn said that we all need to get some sleep if we're gonna try to make it on foot tomorrow," informed Chef. "And that includes you, pretty boy."

Chris looked at his former partner and said, "Okay, goodnight."

"Goodnight Chris." Chef returned to the driver's seat, sat down, and soon slipped away in to dreamland. Chris walked to the rear of the boat, near the transom. He sat down on the surprisingly comfortable seat and pulled a small blanket from one of his backpacks of supplies. After covering himself up, Chris looked around the boat at the other passengers.

Chef was already asleep in the driver's seat, drool dripping from his mouth as he snored. Amy was still asleep and apparently didn't even wake up to listen to Shawn's speech. Humorously, the Twinkie he had given Sammy was still lodged in her mouth. ' _She must be a real heavy sleeper_ ,' thought Chris. As for the other twin, Sammy was sleeping next to her sister, with a small smile on her young, pretty face. Bridgette was resting her head on Geoff's shoulder as she tried to fall asleep, while Geoff had his cowboy hat drooped over his eyes, snoring quietly. Chris then looked over at Jasmine and Shawn, who were both already passed out. Shawn was laid across Jasmine, using her lap as a pillow, while Jasmine had her safari hat drooped over her eyes like Geoff did with his hat.

Before he dozed off, Chris muttered, "Someday, Shawn, you're going to somebody killed. And soon, you will die just as well."

 _*The Next Day*_

 ** _HHHHHOOOOONNNNNKKKKK!_**

Chris woke up to the unbelievably loud and annoying sound of an air horn going off. He quickly sat up in his seat TO SEE Shawn standing in the center of the boat, holding an air horn high in the air.

"Rise and shine, everyone! We got a big day ahead of us today!" declared Shawn eagerly.

Amy had woken up and realized that something was lodged in her mouth. The evil twin pulled out the mysterious object out from her mouth and saw that it was a Twinkie. She threw the snack cake to the floor in fury.

"Who the hell thought it was funny to put that piece of junk in my mouth?!" Amy barked.

"It was Samey," said Chris without a moment's thought.

Upon hearing this, Amy slapped Sammy across the face. "How DARE you humiliate me like that, Sparamy! Just because the dead are rising does not mean you can do whatever you want! You better get your act together, or so help me I'll-'' she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. She looked up to see Jasmine standing in front of the two girls, hands on her hips and shooting a death glare at Amy.

"Uh, I mean, uh, no harm done, Samey. You jokester, you," Amy managed to sheepishly punch her sister in the arm, not taking her eyes off of Jasmine.

"That's more like it," she said to Amy before walking away. Amy dropped her fake smile and grabbed her sister by the collar of her cheerleading uniform.

"Listen to me, Sparamy. You're SOOO damn lucky that you have friends, because without them, I would have destroyed you by now," Amy glared at Sammy. "Just do as I say and maybe I won't throw you to those things." Sammy nodded in understanding. Amy then gave Sammy a pat on the head before walking off.

Over in Alejandro's boat, Cody had just woken up, only to realize that Sierra had her arms wrapped around his small, frail body. He tried to remove his stalker's iron grip from him, but to no avail. He looked up and saw Heather stretching.

"Pssst! Heather!" Cody whispered sharply, "I need your help!" The queen bee ignored Cody and continued her stretching.

"Pleeeeaaaase? I'm begging you!" Cody whined again. Not wanting to listen to the tech geek's complaining anymore, Heather simply walked over to Sugar and whispered something inaudible in her ear. A mischievous smile soon formed on Sugar's face. She walked over to Sierra, and gave the uber-fan a large kick in the butt. As expected, Sierra woke up instantly, releasing Cody to clasp her rear end.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?" asked Sierra.

"Cause Heather told me to," replied Sugar.

"Yeah, and you were strangling poor Cody. Gosh!" exclaimed Harold, helping his friend to his feet.

"Enough bickering, friends! We must continue to find land!" declared Alejandro. He started up the engine, which roared to life after the turn of the key. He yelled over to Shawn, "Shawn! We're all ready to start moving on!"

"Okay! Let's get a move on!" responded Shawn. All the others heard the conversation and started up their engines as well, and soon the amateur circle of boats soon turned back into the V-shaped convoy they had formed the night before. They all couldn't help but gaze at the beautiful early morning sunrise, giving them all a small sense of hope for what might be ahead.

After speeding across the waters for a good few hours, the shore became visible. The six speed boats anchored at the base of the shoreline, and the remains of the Total Drama cast stepped onto the yellow sand with their supplies and personal belongings on their backs.

Shawn cocked his Remington. "All right, here's what's gonna happen: Chef is gonna hand weapons to the people that are in charge if I'm not around. Those people include Jasmine, Bridgette, Brick, Sky, Jo, Gwen, and Harold. Chef already gave Alejandro his two silver 1911's, so he's in charge too."

Chef went around the group and passed out the remaining weapons in his duffel bag of guns. He handed Jasmine a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan .44 magnum revolver with a short barrel, Bridgette a Colt 1911, Harold a Remington 700 SPS sniper rifle with a silencer and bipod, Gwen a Sig Sauer P226 handgun with a flashlight attached to it, Jo a Taurus Raging Bull .44 magnum revolver with a 4-inch barrel, and lastly, he handed a Beretta 92FS 9mm handgun to both Brick and Sky.

"Whoa, hold up. You don't trust me enough to be in charge?" asked Chris, arms extended to the sides.

"No offense Chris, but I trust Chef more than I trust you. You may have been an excellent host, but Chef and the people I selected have true leadership experience. On a side note, Brick and Chef have military experience, so that helps too," replied Shawn, resting his shotgun on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but you didn't select Heather, Eva, Scott, or Courtney, and they seem like leadership material to me," reasoned Chris. His statement made the four people he mentioned nod in agreement.

"Chris is right. Why shouldn't we be trusted?" asked a furious Courtney.

Shawn sighed and said, "True, but those people aren't very stable in the head. No offense." The four of them wanted to attack Shawn for offending them, but they felt that this was not appropriate at the moment, so they just brushed it off. "Now that's taken care of, let's start heading to Toronto!"

"How far is it?" asked Lindsay.

"Well, let's see. We're in the Alberta right now, and Toronto is all the way in the Ontario province. My bunker is about 100 miles north of the city. If we are all going to get there, we are going to have to either drive there or fly there," stated the zombie-fearing teen. "And I do not see any airplanes around here, so we're going to have to find some ground transportation." Everyone groaned at the sound of it, but soon began to follow Shawn as he motioned everyone to follow him into the deep forest. Shawn hoped that they would not run into trouble, but he instantly thought that was impossible.

 **For some reason, I feel like this chapter is a little shorter than the other two. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Also, in the next chapter, I plan to introduce the first few of the MANY OCs the group encounters throughout the story. Once again, I apologize for no zombie action, but that will come in later chapters. Until next time, ciao!**

 **Alive: Chris, Chef, Shawn, Sky, Jasmine, Topher, Leonard, Ella, Beardo, Scarlett, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Sugar, Anne Maria, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, Cameron, B, Brick, Sam, Scott, Dakota, Jo, DJ, Tyler, Geoff, Harold, Heather, Alejandro, Sierra, Cody, Ezekiel, Beth, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Katie, Sadie, Lindsay, LeShawna, Noah, Gwen, Trent, Eva**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max, Dave, Owen**


	4. Others

**What's up, guys? So apparently, the first episode of the Ridonculous Race was leaked onto YouTube. After watching it, I must say, I really miss the old Total Drama already. I was a little disappointed that hardly any of my favorite characters made the cut. I won't say who made it, but only 4 people from seasons 1-6 made it, sadly. But some of the new characters seem all right. It keeps getting taken off of YouTube, so search really hard if you wanna see it. Enough babbling; on with the story!**

The 47 survivors continued their odyssey through the forest in the dampness of the bright, early morning. They all walked in a perfect single-file line, with Shawn in the very front, and Jo in the very rear. They were trying to remain as quiet as possible, but it was very difficult when the forest floor was littered with twigs, branches, leaves, and pine cones. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of birds chirping.

Suddenly, Shawn held up his hand, signaling the others to halt. Their leader had heard something not too far ahead. A zombie had staggered out of the bushes and spotted the cast.

"I got this," Shawn told the others. He handed his shotgun to Sam and drew his machete. Without another word, the zombie-freak speed-walked over to the ghoul and drove his weapon into its skull. He tried to remove it, but it was lodged in deep. So, Shawn had to kick the zombie to the ground and the machete came out perfectly.

He returned to the group, and Brick handed Shawn his Remington. "Ready?" Brick asked. Oddly, Brick was still carrying the case of money Chris had given him back at the resort.

"Yeah, let's keep moving!" Shawn instructed. The group conformed to Shawn's command and continued to march further into the woods. In the middle of the line, Harold and Cody were talking.

"So Harold, did you ever think that zombies would ever take over the world?" asked Cody.

Harold looked back at his friend and said, "Actually no, I didn't. Personally, I imagined that aliens would take over the world before zombies did."

Cody laughed a little. "Hehe, yeah." He remained silent for about a minute before proceeding with: "I still can't believe that Owen and Justin are dead." Harold looked back at his friend again. He could tell that Cody missed them a lot, due to Justin being in the Drama Brothers with them, and Owen was practically his best friend.

"Well, I miss them too, buddy," Harold told Cody, "but we gotta keep going like Shawn said."

"I don't mean to intrude on your conversation, but I agree with Harold," Scarlett interrupted, who was walking behind Cody. "I despised Max with all my heart, and even though I'm a little shocked over his death, believe it or not, I know that there is nothing that can be done about it now. The only thing we can do now is hope for the future, boys. Because, believe me, there will be more deaths. So keep focusing on the objective, and mourn later." The two geeks took a minute to let Scarlett's speech sink in. She WAS right. It's okay to be sad, but they must focus on the situation at hand first before dealing with anything personal. Once they were done, they turned back around and remained silent.

Towards the end of the line, Tyler and Lindsay were having a seemingly pointless conversation about the zombies.

"So, can't these zombies just leave us alone? What did we do to them?" asked Lindsay asked her boyfriend.

"Um, Linds, they want to eat us. They eat people," replied Tyler.

"But why do they do that?" asked the dumb blonde. This actually caught Tyler off guard for a second.

"Uh…well, uh…hm." Tyler was a true loss for words, but opened his mouth to try to speak. Before he could speak, he felt something soft press against his mouth. He looked behind him to see that Mike had his hand covering Tyler's mouth.

"Just forget it, man. It's hopeless," said the former MPD sufferer. The athlete removed Mike's hand from his mouth and hung his head in shame.

Near the front of the line, Sammy had noticed that Jasmine looked a little sad. She lightly tapped her best friend on the arm to which the Australian giant looked back at her blonde friend.

"Oh hey, Sammy. What's up?" asked Jasmine, putting on a small smile. Sammy could definitely tell something was wrong.

"You look a little down. You all right?" asked the good twin.

"Yeah, totally. I'm just…..I'm just thinkin' about how, if this is really worldwide, that means Australia's infected too. I just can't help but feel that I may never see my parents again. I don't know if they are alive, dead, or worse," confessed Jasmine.

Sammy really didn't know what to say at first, but after a brief moment of thought, said, "Well, I don't know if my parents are alive or not. Even though they preferred Amy over me, and considering the fact that I didn't like them a whole lot, I like to imagine that they're all right. You know…somewhere. Just do the sane with your parents! And besides, your parents are Australian! If they can survive dingoes and kangaroos, I'm pretty sure they can survive zombies!"

Jasmine gazed into the distance, deep in thought. She tried her best to imagine her parents were okay. She imagined that they were in some city or town that was declared a safe-zone, or maybe just surviving out in the wilderness. Her father once told her that he had lived in the not one, but TWO months in the Outback wilderness. This fact and the reassuring vision she created made the Aussie feel better.

"Wow, I think it worked! Thanks mate!" Before Jasmine could give Sammy a hug, a faint loud sound echoed in the distance. The entire line stopped to listen, wondering if the sound would repeat. Sure enough, there was another loud sound, but then three more sounds followed it, and it was clear what these sounds were.

They were gunshots.

"What should we do?" asked Ezekiel.

Shawn grasped his chin, contemplating on whether they should follow the sounds, or go off in the other direction. Shawn, having made up his mind, said "Let's go.", and ran off on his own to find the source of the gunshots. The others hurried behind him so they weren't left on their own. In the process, they broke the perfect line and formed a small cluster of people. As the gang ran deeper and deeper into the woods, the gunshots became gradually louder. All of a sudden, they stopped in their tracks to see that they had found the source. It was a small group of people, four men and one woman, trying to defend themselves against a horde of at least thirty zombies.

The person who appeared to be their leader looked to be in his mid to late 50's with short dark grey hair, a dark grey mustache, and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a dark blue short-sleeved police uniform, complete with a gold badge, utility belt, and black combat boots. He was firing a Glock 17 handgun, which after three more shots, ran dry.

"Roger! Cover me!" he shouted in a deep, southern accent. Roger was in his late 20's, wearing a John Deere cap that covered his hair (although some shaggy dark brown could be seen covering the back of his neck) and light blue eyes. He was about as tall as Mike, and he also wore a long-sleeved camouflaged John Deere shirt, dark blue jeans, and dark brown work boots. If one looked closely, he or she could see a Glock 17 tucked into the front of his pants, as he appeared to lack a holster.

"I gotcha," said Roger, who fired his crossbow at a zombie that almost grabbed the border-line elderly cop. The policeman loaded a fresh magazine into his Glock.

"Thanks," said Chuck and fired another shot into the oncoming zombies.

"There are too many of them!" shouted the only woman, decapitating a zombie with her machete.

"Yeah, my arms are getting tired!" shouted another man, wielding a blood-stained wooden baseball bat. Shawn and the others were hiding from the scene, unsure of what to do.

"Should we help them?" Trent asked Gwen.

"Not sure. I mean, I would. But this is Shawn's call," said the Goth chick.

Chris walked up to Shawn. "Should we help?" he whispered. Shawn still had his eyes fixed on the group of survivors, but ultimately turned to look at Chris.

"Oh what the hell?" Shawn simply remarked and blew a zombie's head off with his shotgun. Gwen, Jasmine, Lightning, Eva, Brick, and Chef ran out to join the fray. Using either knives or bludgeons they took from the resort, the small group began dispatching the advancing zombies on all sides.

"Sha-BAM!" yelled Lightning as he slammed two zombies' heads together.

Another one of the survivors, a young man who appeared to be around 17 or so, noticed the help that his group was receiving. "Chuck! We've got company! Human company!" the teenager shouted to the police officer. Chuck turned to see Shawn and company killing as many zombies as they could.

"Guys, stand back! I think they've got this!" said the cop. The other four survivors stopped fighting and ran up to Chuck, watching their saviors fend off the dead. Eva drove her machete into the last zombie's skull. "All right, Shawn! I think that's it," she said.

Shawn inserted his machete back into its sheath. "Okay, good job guys," the conspiracy nut congratulated. After catching his breath, Shawn glanced over at Chuck and his group. "Ae you guys all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine," responded Chuck.

"Thanks for saving us, mister. For a minute there, I thought we were gonna die," said the man with the baseball bat.

"It's no trouble," said Chef. By this point, all the other members of Shawn's group had emerged from their hiding spot. Chuck glanced around at the entire group, his face lit up with astonishment.

"Wow. That's an awful lot of people you got there, hehe," the policeman chuckled. "Allow me to introduce us. My name is Lieutenant Charles Gordon, but you can call me Chuck. That's Kenny." Chuck used his thumb to point to the man with the baseball bat.

He looked to be in his mid to late 30's with dark African skin, a bald head, and hazel eyes. He was wearing a light grey T-shirt with the sleeves torn off, dark green cargo shorts, and white tennis shoes. The one thing that stood out the most was his size. If someone put him and Beardo side by side, their height and belly size would be uncanny. Kenny gave a small wave. "Hello," he said with a small smile.

"That's Chelsea," Chuck pointed to the woman in her 20's. Chelsea had long straight black hair that extended to her upper back, and light blue eyes. She wore a neon pink tank top, black jeans and Converse sneakers that were identical to Sky's, only Chelsea's were blue. Also, she was as tall as Sky was.

"'Sup?" asked Chelsea.

"This is Roger." The man in the John Deere attire gave a small nod. "And this is Connor."

Connor was the teenager of the group. As described before, he appeared to be around 17 years of age, with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was average height, and his outfit consisted of a white baseball tee with long blue sleeves, blue jeans, and black Converse sneakers. In his hand, he held a silver Beretta 92SB 9mm handgun.

"H-Hi," Connor waved. He scanned the whole group, and happily exclaimed: "Hey! I know you! You're the guys from Total Drama!"

"Yeah, how did you know?" asked Lindsay. Most of the ex-contestants shook their heads or face-palmed at Lindsay's stupidity.

"Uh, babe, he's clearly a fan of the show. That's how he knows. Right?" said Tyler before turning to Connor to confirm his suspicion.

"Yeah," confirmed Connor.

Shawn walked over to Chuck. "Do you guys have a camp?"

"Unfortunately, no. We've been wandering aimlessly for the past two weeks," said Chuck. "What about you?"

"No. In fact, we just escaped the resort we were staying at only yesterday. We lost five in the chaos," replied Shawn.

Chuck gave Shawn a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry to hear that. But listen Shawn, me and my friends have been roaming around for days, and to be honest, I don't think that they can take much of the wilderness anymore. We're trying to head to the nearest town to try and find others, as well as to seek some refuge. Our group started out with ten people, but we lost the other five to the zombies."

Shawn too provided a face of sympathy. "I'm sorry, officer. You, know, you and your group are welcome to accompany us."

Chuck looked at his new friend. "Are…Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Besides, in this world now, safety rests in numbers. Certainly five new editions to our group won't do any harm," replied Shawn.

"Uh, YEAH, it WILL do some harm!" Noah interjected. "There are still a lot of us, and the only food we have are the two duffel bags of junk food that Owen had. Adding five strangers to the equation just equals the fact that food will run out faster."

"Will you relax? I'm sure we'll either hunt for food, or we'll scan the area for food stores," said Rodney. This statement made Bridgette, Ella, and Dawn feel uneasy.

"Uh, I'd feel more comfortable if we just went on runs for food," said Bridgette.

"Seconded it," supported Dawn.

"Yes, I don't think it would be nice to kill innocent animals for food," said Ella.

Topher rested his hand on her shoulder. "I know that you're friends with nature, and that's fine. But if we can't find food anywhere, I'm afraid that we'll HAVE to hunt animals for food," said the host wannabe. Ella looked at Topher with uncertainty, but saw Shawn walk up to her in the corner of her eye.

"Topher's right." He turned to Chelsea. "What have you guys been using as food?"

"Well, recently we cleaned out a small market," replied Chelsea. "There wasn't much left, but we found enough to keep us going. Kenny's in charge of carrying our food supply." She glanced over at Kenny. "How much do we got, Ken?"

Kenny removed the black duffel bag from his shoulder and unzipped it, peering at its contents. "Not much. We have three cans of beans, one can of tomatoes, four bottles of water, and one large zip-lock bag of walnuts and pecans we've found in the past week," replied the African man.

Chelsea returned her attention to Shawn. "Another reason to find the nearest town; we're running low on food," she said.

"Do you know how far the nearest town is?" he asked.

Chelsea shrugged her shoulders and replied, "If my memory is correct, I think the nearest town is Spruce Grove. We're not sure how far it is from here, but Roger's got a compass, and he says that we should head east to where Spruce Grove is."

"Okay, because my people and I are heading to Toronto to get to my bunker," said Shawn.

"Wait, you and your friends are all gonna fit in one bunker? I know you won last season, but is it really THAT big?" asked Connor.

Before Shawn could answer, Brick answered for him. "No we're not. We're simply going there to stock up on weapons. Besides, his bunker can only hold like three or four people."

"Oh," said Connor, completely understanding.

"Well, shall we move on?" asked Chuck.

Shawn looked at Chuck, then at his own people, and finally loaded a few new shotgun shells into his Remington. "Let's shove off!" he ordered, cocking his weapon as he spoke. He started walking off into the woods, with Chuck walking beside him. Shawn's group didn't bother to form their perfect line like before, instead walking in their cluster they formed when they were watching Chuck and his group fend off zombies. While they walked, Chuck's group merged with Shawn's group.

"So how long did it take you to realize that zombies had taken over?" Roger asked Geoff.

"We actually didn't know until last night, but we only knew because we were attacked," said Geoff, holding Bridgette's hand.

"Yeah, that, and the only thing that was playing on the television was the Emergency Broadcast warning. So basically, we have no idea how this thing started or anything else," added Zoey.

"Well, I don't know everything that happened, but what I DO know is that the virus was first seen in Liberia and soon spread across the world in a matter of months," said Roger.

"Maybe that's why we haven't heard anything, because it took us about three months to film season seven, and we spent another two and a half weeks relaxing at the resort," said Chris.

"That, and the phones and cell service at the 5-star resort were ironically terrible," Beth piped up.

"Hey Roger, where were you when all this happened?" asked Dakota. Roger turned back to speak to Dakota. "Chelsea and I were on our way to South Dakota for some R&R. We knew things weren't getting better here in Canada, so we tried to seek refuge in the U.S. Unfortunately, the Americans were handling the crisis worse than we Canadians did. By that point, there was mass civil unrest, people killing innocent people for supplies, just utter madness. Eventually, Chelsea and I decided to drive back to Canada, but we were stopped at the border. After we proved that were Canadian, they let us pass. After being on the road for a couple of weeks, Chuck and three other people found us, and took us in. Then we saved Kenny from being eaten. Then we rescued two other people from a group of bandits. Connor over there is our newest member; we took him in only three days ago." Roger pointed forward at Connor, who was talking to Sky and Izzy.

"So you lost Dave to those bastards, huh?" Connor asked Sky. Sky sadly nodded while staring at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"So where were you before this?" asked Izzy.

"Well, believe it or not, I'm from the U.S. My family and I were going on vacation to Vancouver when things began to fall apart in America. When things got even worse, when both the American and Canadian militaries got overrun, we decided to head back, but our car got stuck in a large herd of those things. We tried to drive past them, but a few of them got stuck underneath the tires, so we had to escape on foot. I lost my mother and my younger brother to the dead."

Izzy and Sky looked at Connor, who had grown a sad frown. "We're sorry to hear that," said Sky.

"Thanks, but, I try not to think about it a whole lot. My dad and I survived for quite a while, but one day, while clearing out a house, my dad got bit. I didn't have the balls to amputate his leg, and he didn't want me to either. I stayed with him until he breathed his last, and I was the one who put him out of his misery. He was a good man, my father. He was probably one of the smartest fellas you would've ever met. At least I know that my family's in Heaven, and that's what's important." After he finished telling his story, he marched a little further from the two girls, leaving them to themselves.

At the front of the bunch, Shawn and Chuck were sharing stories. "So I was called to handle a small situation near a town called Fauton, but we were overwhelmed. They just…came out of nowhere. I saw my best friend and colleague go down. I survived on my own for about two days before I stumbled upon this small group of three. They needed someone with leadership experience to guide them, so I stepped up and helped them survive. Then I found those other four over time," said Chuck.

"My condolences. If I lost Jasmine, I'd probably lose my mind," said Shawn, clutching his shotgun. "When we reach Spruce Grove, what should be our first move?"

"Hey man, you're the one leading this group, I think it should be your call. Just think of me as a go-to for advice," replied Chuck. Shawn looked at the 50-something-year-old cop.

"Well, okay then. Once we get to our destination, we'll try to find some cars so we can head to Toronto. However, before we depart, we'll scout the town for any goods. Once that's taken care of, then we'll continue on our way," Shawn stated.

The group trekked through the wilderness for another three hours, before coming upon a hill top. They could see the sun through the trees, as well as some kind of formation in the distance. They emerged from the trees and all gathered on the cliff side to view their potential stopping point: the city.

 **Well, I've done another chapter with no character deaths. I'm sorry, but I promise: in the next chapter, I'll include a couple of deaths. I hope you like my OC's so far, cause there will be more in the future. Also, in the future, a few of my OC's will get romantically involved with a few of the characters. Until next time, dosyvidania!**

 **Alive: Chris, Chef, Shawn, Sky, Jasmine, Topher, Leonard, Ella, Beardo, Scarlett, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Sugar, Anne Maria, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, Cameron, B, Brick, Sam, Scott, Dakota, Jo, DJ, Tyler, Geoff, Harold, Heather, Alejandro, Sierra, Cody, Ezekiel, Beth, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Katie, Sadie, Lindsay, LeShawna, Noah, Gwen, Trent, Eva, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Kenny**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max, Dave, Owen**


	5. Scavenge

**This is the longest chapter I've written so far, with over 6,000 words! I hope you guys like this long chapter, and keep on leaving comments and reviews!**

The city of Spruce Grove looked beyond beautiful from the cliff side. With the sun high in the sky, and the midday heat beginning to set in, the Total Drama gang and their new allies gazed upon the urban utopia with awe.

"So that's Spruce Grove, eh?" said Ezekiel, shattering the precious silence.

"Yep," said Chuck, "and that's where we'll scavenge for supplies. Right Shawn?" He turned his attention to Shawn, and the de facto leader of the group nodded in agreement.

"Yes," he replied. "Everyone! We're not gonna spend too long in the city. Our goal is to find some working cars and whatever else we can find. All clear?" Mostly everyone nodded in response, and with that, the group began their descent down the hill side to make their way to the city. Once they all had made it below, they quickly ran towards the city limits. After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the edge of the city.

"Our first objective is to find some working cars," Chef reminded everyone as they crept into the abandoned city.

"Hey guys! I see one over there!" Sadie pointed ahead, and everyone could see a large white SUV parked on the side of the road.

"Great job, Sadie. Brick, come with me," Shawn said, and the two teens made their way over to the car.

"Be on the lookout for any dead ones!" Jasmine said to the entire group, her Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan revolver at the ready.

Over at the SUV, Brick and Shawn had successfully broken into the car without triggering the alarm. Brick was sitting in the driver's seat, trying to find the keys. He then remembered an old trick his father taught him as a kid. He lifted down the sun visor and just like that, a small ring of keys fell into Brick's hand. He inserted the key into the ignition, turned it, and the SUV roared to life.

"Great job, man," Shawn congratulated. He turned to face the others. "This SUV can hold seven people, as well as one small person in the very back/in the trunk."

"Hey Shawn! I see many more up ahead!" said Harold, who was aiming his sniper rifle and gazing down the scope. He handed his weapon to Shawn and he looked through the rifle's scope. True to Harold's claim, the doomsday prepper saw various automobiles in the distance.

He handed the rifle back to the uber-geek. "Nice work, Harold. Brick, bring the SUV with us, but try not to hit anybody. Everyone else, go around and try to start up some of them up."

"What if we can't get any of 'em to start up?" asked Eva.

"Then I'll help hot wire it. My father taught me how when I was eight-years-old. If any of you can't get a car started, just call me over," volunteered Roger, his crossbow slung on his shoulder.

"All righty, let's move forward," ordered Shawn as they continued further into the city. Brick slowly followed his friends in the SUV, trying his best not to hit anyone.

"This is strange," Gwen commented.

"What do you mean?" asked Chelsea.

"Well, I've seen plenty of horror movies in my time. If I know one thing, it's that when it comes to zombie movies, the cities are crawling with them," Gwen told Chelsea.

"Again, another reason why we should hurry up and leave," said Cody, with a small hint of fear in his speech.

Eventually, everyone broke off into small groups to try some functional cars. After merely ten minutes, the gang had successfully started up a small group of cars. They included an old, rusted pale blue pick-up truck with a three-person cabin, a white van, a pale blue Toyota Camry, a black Audi sedan, an old camper with a small sleeping quarters above the driver's cabin, and one of those armored trucks that's used to transport money. The only vehicle that needed to be hot-wired was the van, but Roger claimed that it wasn't any trouble. After they counted the sitting space in all the cars, the gang began loading up.

"Now that we've found some transportation, we should see if there are any shops nearby so we can scavenge for supplies," Connor told Shawn.

"That's the plan, Stan," Shawn patted Connor on the back as they both boarded the camper. The group formed yet another convoy, with the camper in the front and the Audi sedan in the rear. Here's the layout:

 **Camper: Jasmine (driving), Shawn, Rodney, Topher, Noah, Cody, Sierra, Connor, Kenny, and Beth.**

 **Van: Chuck (driving), Chris, Heather, Tyler, Lindsay, Courtney, Lightning, and Anne Maria.**

 **SUV: Brick (driving), Harold, Zoey, Mike, Sam, Dakota, Amy, and Cameron (the poor nerd was forced to sit in the back/trunk).**

 **Pick-up: Chef (driving), Bridgette, Geoff, Sky, Ezekiel, LeShawna, Roger, Chelsea, and Scott (the last six people had to sit in the bed of the pick-up).**

 **Armored Car: Izzy (driving), Alejandro, Katie, Sadie, B, Dawn, and Beardo.**

 **Camry: Jo (driving) Leonard, Gwen, and Ella.**

 **Audi: Eva (driving), DJ, Sammy, and Trent.**

The convoy of cars soon started to speed down the seemingly empty and quiet street. In the process, the noise had lured all the zombies out of their hiding spots. There were so many of them, if you happened to see them from a rooftop, you would not see the pavement.

"Hey Trent, look," Sammy told the guitarist. Trent and Sammy looked out the back of the Audi to see the zombies failing to catch up to them. "You and I saw dozens of those things at the resort, but I've never seen so many of them." Trent's typically cool and collected manner was replaced by an expression of fear.

"Jesus Christ…" was all Trent could spit out before making a Catholic sign of the cross on his forehead, chest, and shoulders. Sammy rested her hand on her friend's arm, trying to comfort him. She saw that Trent was grasping some kind of necklace. She removed his strong hand to reveal a small golden Crucifix.

"Don't worry, Trent. God's watching over us, so just relax," the good twin reassured.

In the camper, Jasmine nudged her boyfriend on the arm, who was sitting gin the passenger seat. "Hey Shawn, isn't that a mall?" she asked. Shawn looked to where Jasmine was pointing. A little to their far left, Shawn could see a large parking lot, and a large shopping mall structure in the center of the property.

"Uh, yeah, it is," he said in response. Suddenly, Shawn imagined a light bulb above his head as he sparked an idea. "Hey! I have an idea! Pull into the parking lot!"

Jasmine looked at Shawn with confusion. "Why?" she asked.

"This may be the solution to our supply conundrum. If we all explore the inside of the mall, we can obtain more supplies than we need!" Shawn declared, confident that his girlfriend would agree with him.

"Sounds like a plan. Hang on!" Jasmine jerked the wheel and the camper made an extremely sharp turn into the mall parking lot. Naturally, all the following vehicles followed the camper into the abandoned lot, but the occupants were beyond confused.

"What the hell are they doing?" asked Jo.

"Maybe Shawn needs to say something," suggested Leonard.

All the vehicles followed the camper into the parking lot, but then into an upper parking deck. They all pulled into their parking spots, and soon they all exited.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Kenny.

"I have a plan," said Shawn, holding his shotgun as if it were a cane. "We're gonna break inside, take what we need, get back in the cars, and then continue on our way to Toronto. Besides, we'll have better luck finding what we potentially need in here rather than simply going from place to place trying to obtain what we need."

"Hey wait a minute!" Scott piped up. "If there are no dead ones in the mall and if it's secure enough to keep out large herds of 'em, why don't we all just make this our base?" Most of the cast members started to randomly speak their minds about the idea, but in such a rather unorganized manner that none of them could be taken seriously.

Shawn sighed and said, "Because Number 1: we need to get to my bunker if each of us is gonna have a weapon, and Number 2: I saw an old zombie movie once where the heroes seek refuge in a shopping mall to hide from the undead. **[1]** I mean, it worked out for quite a while, but eventually, everything just fell apart."

"Awwww man," whined Scott. "But you have to admit, it's a pretty damn good idea if ya ask me."

"So, do we just go in there and go from one store to the next?" asked Katie.

"Exactly. We'll split up into groups of four. That way, we can cover more ground more quickly," answered their leader.

"But wait, afterwards, do we meet out here or do we all meet up somewhere else?" asked Topher.

Shawn thought about it for a minute before answering. "Afterwards, we'll meet in the food court. While you're looking around, make sure you get things such as camping equipment, personal toiletries, and any weapons if you can find them." He then turned his head to Alejandro. "Are there any duffel bags in your armored truck?"

"Let me check," the Latin responded. He walked to the back of the armored truck and opened up the back. "Uh… yes. There are about seven of them."

"Okay, some of us will use those, while the rest of you can use your personal bags to put stuff in. Now let's move," said Shawn, advancing towards the automatic sliding doors. He had his shotgun aimed at the doors, as well as everyone else who had guns. The doors wouldn't open automatically (probably because the power was out), so Shawn had to blast the glass with his Remington.

"Be careful crawling through the busted glass," Shawn warned as he himself made his way through the small hole he just made. While he waited for everyone to make their way in, he looked at his surroundings. He was currently in some kind of outdoors store, with various lawnmowers, grills, and other outdoor materials displayed all around the store. After everyone had made their way inside the store, Shawn turned and said, "Remember, try to search quickly. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get to Toronto." Everyone broke off into small groups and went off in different directions.

Shawn, DJ, Chelsea, Chef, Ezekiel, and Eva stayed in the outdoors store to look around for anything that might be useful. While Eva, Chelsea, and Ezekiel went off to the hand tools section, DJ went off to the camping section, and Shawn and Chef decided to check out the outdoor clothing section.

"Hey Shawn, DO you think that are any zombies in this mall?" asked Chef, who threw a rain jacket into his personal bag.

"If there are any, I'm sure the others can handle it," said Shawn, who threw a pair of rain boots and a spare toque into his bag. Over in the hand tools section, Eva, Chelsea, and Ezekiel were inspecting some new machetes and hand weapons.

"I think I'll give this thing up," said Ezekiel. He threw his puny kitchen knife to the ground and picked up a bad-ass looking trail hatchet.

"I think that suits you," said Chelsea with a smile.

"Thanks, eh," the homeschooled prairie boy replied.

"Hey guys, check this out!" they heard Eva say. They both turned to see Eva with two two-foot longs machetes in her hands.

"Oh yeah, you'll definitely kill a lot of zombies with those two," said DJ, who had returned from the camping section. His duffel bag was full of small camping utensils such as pots, skillets, cutlery, and heaters. "Hey can you guys help me back there? I can't carry all those tents by myself."

The three nodded and followed DJ to where the tents were. According to what the tags said on each of the tents, each one could hold eight people each, so they took five eight-person tents and two two-person tents.

In some other part of the mall, Cody, Tyler, Harold, and Connor were investigating a small swords and knives store.

"Hey guys, look at this!" Connor said as he displayed a large hunting knife for the three friends to see.

"That's neat, but how about this?" Cody held up a cool-looking, 12-inch Bowie knife.

"Oh please, those two are nothing compared to THIS!" Harold proudly held up a katana. To display his new weapon's power, Harold sliced a box on top of the glass counter in half, sending packing peanuts flying everywhere. Cody, Tyler, and Connor stared in shock and amazement.

"This goes without saying, but that katana totally suits your personality, dude," said Tyler, who inserted a long Middle Eastern sword into his belt. "We should take a lot of these with us. I'm pretty sure that all those kitchen knives we took from the resort won't help a lot if we try to stab them in the head."

"Yeah, the only good thing that comes out of having a knife like that in the zombie apocalypse is slicing someone's throat," said Connor. "Although, that WOULD come in handy if you were defending yourself if you were being mugged." The four teenagers quickly threw some knives and a couple of swords into the bag they took from the armored car and walked out of the shop. On the way out, they ran into Zoey, Sky, Bridgette, and Geoff.

"Hey guys! Where did you guys come from?" asked Cody.

"We just got finished clearing out a candy shop," replied Zoey. "It wasn't that big, so we practically left it empty."

"Yeah, I try to steer clear of candy, but it looks like that's what we'll be living off of for a while," said Sky.

"That's not entirely true," the eight of them heard someone say. They all turned to see Alejandro, Kenny, Beardo, Katie, and Sadie walking towards them.

"What did you guys find?" asked Geoff.

"We found a small market across the way," said Beardo, pointing in the direction that they had come. "We found all sorts of goods. Bread, canned fruits, nuts, granola bars, and much more!"

"Yeah, if it's any consolation, we should be good for a good while with this stuff," added Kenny. He looked around at the others' bags. "What did you guys find?"

"Well Zoey and her group found a candy shop, and we found a sword and knife shop," said Harold.

"Oh sweet! You got any cool ones in there for us?" asked Kenny. Harold nodded and reached into his bag. He gave Kenny a switchblade, and Katie and Sadie traded their butcher knives for two machetes.

"Well, we should probably head towards the food court like Shawn said," said Alejandro " _Vamonos."_ The small group began walking in the direction of the food court with their new findings.

"I can't believe that we haven't run into any zombies by now," said Sadie.

"I know, right? You'd think that such a big place would have a lot of zombies roaming around," said Katie in return.

"Maybe the mall was closed when the zombies overran the city," guessed Bridgette.

Elsewhere, Topher, Chris, Sammy, and Jasmine were looking around a pharmacy.

"Grab more than you think you'll need," said Jasmine. "It's a long trip to Toronto, and we probably won't stop again until we get there."

"Ay ay, captain!" Chris said sarcastically while giving Jasmine a salute. Chris continued with what he was doing, but he didn't notice that Topher had walked up and was staring at him. Topher cleared his throat and Chris looked up.

"What do you want, Topher?" the former host asked.

"I know what you did," Topher said with a small hint of anger in his voice. All the hairs on back of Chris's neck stood up and his eyes went wide.

"I…uh…don't know what you're talking about, hehe," Chris chuckled, trying to keep his composure.

"Cut the shit, Chris. I saw you do it," said the host-wannabe. Chris got back on his feet and looked at his fan.

"Do what? I didn't do anything," Chris lied.

"Do I have to spell it out for you, Chris? Owen didn't get bit, and you certainly didn't kill him out of mercy. You killed him to save your own ass. You figured that with him dead, the zombies would eat him while you escaped," Topher revealed. Chris couldn't believe it; he thought his plan was perfect. He thought that with so many zombies roaming around, that no one would see his heinous and selfish act.

"I know what you did, Chris…and that's not gonna happen again," Topher continued. "I knew you were sadistic and selfish even before all this, but I didn't know you'd stoop THAT low." Before Chris could respond, he saw Topher pull out his machete. "I could kill you right now. I'll tell the others what you did, and given that they all know you pretty damn well, they won't even question it. Owen might have lived and you know it." He paused. "But, I'm not going to kill you."

"W-Why?"

"Because even though you and I are alike in many ways, I would NEVER go so low as to killing another human being in cold blood," said Topher after a small silence. He inserted his machete back into its sheath before picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Get your stuff. We're leaving." The teen followed Jasmine and Sammy out of the pharmacy while Chris stood there for another minute.

' _I can't believe that son of a bitch knows that!'_ thought Chris. _'As unfortunate as it may sound, I'll have to kill Topher too. There's no way that I'll survive if my secret is exposed.'_ Chris picked up his personal bag and followed the others to the food court.

Near the front entrance, a large herd of zombies began to pile up against the glass doors, trying to claw their way in. As more and more ventured over, the weight against the glass began to slowly crack the glass…

Gwen, Chuck, Mike, Heather, and Roger were trying to clear out a hardware store near the front of mall. Heather and Gwen stared at the zombies pushed up against the large window of the store.

"We need to hurry. God knows if that window will hold any longer," said Gwen, arms crossed.

"Yeah, the last thing we need is more shit on our hands," said Heather. Suddenly, the two enemies swore they could hear thumping sounds coming from the back. The two girls slowly advanced to the back of the store, and they stopped in front of what appeared to be the break room.

"Open it," said Gwen, aiming her P226 handgun.

"You're the one with the gun, so you open it!" hissed Heather. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, fine," she groaned. She switched on the flashlight on the handgun and flipped off the safety. "Keep your knife ready." Heather complied with Gwen's command and raised her kitchen knife.

Gwen slowly wrapped her hand around the door handle, and slowly turned it. With a small sense of courage, Gwen pushed the door in. The room was pitch black due to the power being out, so she aimed her handgun flashlight around the dark room until she and Heather saw the horror inside.

A zombie was down on the floor, feasting on a janitor's corpse. Luckily, the zombie was too busy eating the janitor's intestines to notice the light shining on it. Gwen wasted no time in blowing the creature's brains out with a single bullet. She also shot the janitor's corpse in the head, just to be sure that it wouldn't reanimate.

"What was that?" they heard Roger call out.

"Sorry! We had to kill a few!" shouted Heather.

While Gwen and Heather were talking to Roger, Mike was browsing the flashlights. He saw though he could see a large box that said it contain eight small flashlights inside.

"Oh sweet! Those will come in handy," Mike said to himself. He reached his left hand into the shelf, trying to grab the box on the other side. Just when he thought he was going to grab the box, the box fell off of the other side, landing on the floor. This forced Mike to get on his hands and knees and peer under the shelves. Even in the pitch darkness, he could barely make out the shape of the white box. He reached his entire left arm under the stack of shelves, in yet another attempt to grab it. Unfortunately, this would prove to be Mike's mistake.

Before he could even grab the box, he felt something grab his hand. Mike didn't have much time to react, as he felt a sharp pain rush throughout his hand. Mike could only scream as whatever was holding his hand bit down on his fingers. This alerted the others and they came rushing to his aid. While Chuck and Gwen tried to help Mike remove his hand (Heather just stood in the background, confused), Roger peered around the shelf and saw that a lone zombie was biting on Mike's hand.

"Say goodnight, creep," said Roger. He fired a single arrow into the zombie's temple, killing it.

Mike was then able to remove his hand, and to his horror, he saw that his left index, middle, and ring fingers had been bitten off, leaving only his thumb and pinkie finger intact.

"Oh my GOOOOD!" Mike screamed with pain and shock as he stared down at his hand. The group then began to glass breaking, and the all-so familiar moans of the undead.

"Heather, what's happening?" asked Gwen.

"T-Th-The zombies have b-broken the glass, and are now heading STRAIGHT TOWARDS US!" Heather screamed.

"We have to get Mike out of here. Mike, can you walk?" Chuck asked Mike. The poor teen didn't answer, as he was clutching his hand while tears streamed down his face. "Okay, never mind. Heather, grab Mike's legs, we need to get him back to the others." Heather nodded and grabbed Mike's legs while Chuck grabbed him by the arms. The five ran as quickly as they could to the exit, trying their best to avoid the oncoming horde. While they ran towards the food court, Gwen and Roger provided cover fire.

Around that time, everyone except Chuck's group had made it to the food court.

"Were those gunshots?" asked Lindsay.

"No, they were the sounds of the ground breaking," said a sarcastic Amy.

Lindsay gasped. "Oh my gosh! The ground is breaking?! We gotta get out of here!" Lindsay began running around like a lunatic, until Rodney stopped her.

"Everything's fine, Lindsay. Just relax," said the giant farm boy.

"Do any of you see Chuck and the others?" asked Shawn.

"I do! Over there!" shouted LeShawna. Chuck and Heather came running over to the others with Mike in their hands. They quickly but gently laid him down on the floor.

"What happened to Phineas Gage?" asked Jo.

"He got bit, that's what," said Roger as he loaded a new magazine into his Glock 17 and let the slide of the pistol slide forward, chambering a new round.

"What?! Is my honey okay?" asked Zoey frantically.

"He's fine Zoey, but we're gonna have to perform an amputation," said Chuck. This last remark made both Zoey and Mike feel uneasy.

"W-What?! There has to be another way. I don't want you to cut my hand off!" Mike protested.

"We have to, Mike. Plus, we got dozens of dead ones headin' our way!" Sam pointed to the zombies heading towards the group of survivors.

"Oh shit! Okay listen up! Harold, Jasmine, Sky, Connor, and Chris! Cover us while we get the amputation under way!" ordered Shawn. The five ran away from the group and began firing their weapons into the crowd of zombies.

"I don't want you to cut my hand off! I don't want you to-" Brick had slapped Mike across the face.

"Pull yourself together, soldier! I know you're afraid, but you'll surely die if the infected area is not removed. Just trust us and try to stay calm," Brick tried to comfort and reason with his friend. "Who's going to perform the amputation?"

"I'll do it," said Chuck. "Someone get me something to use as a tourniquet!" Leonard took off his wizard hat and handed it to the police officer. Chuck ripped the wizard hat open and tied it around Mike's left arm tightly. He turned to Zoey.

"Zoey, I need you to hold Mike's hand and guide him through the procedure," Chuck told the indie chick. Zoey nodded and grabbed her boyfriend's right hand.

"Everything's gonna be all right, Mike. Just look at me, okay?" Mike, still scared shitless, nodded nervously at Zoey.

Chuck looked up at Brick. "You got anything to put in Mike's mouth?"

"What?" asked Brick in confusion.

"You know, something for him to bite down on," explained the cop.

"Ooohh," Brick reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rag and handed it to Chuck.

"It's my sweat rag. It's not much, but it's something," the cadet explained. Chuck rolled up the rag into a small burrito shape and shoved it in Mike's mouth.

"This will be over before you know it. Just look at your girlfriend," Chuck reassured the poor teenager.

"Chuck, hurry up already! There are too many of them!" shouted Chris, who then fired the remaining rounds from his USP pistol. Harold handed Chuck a new combat hatchet.

"I'm sorry, Mike," was the last thing Chuck said before he raised the hatchet high, and brought it down on Mike's wrist.

" _MMMMMMMMMPH!"_ Mike screamed as he bit down hard on the rag.

"It's okay, sweetie. It's almost over," said Zoey, grasping Mike's hand tightly.

Chuck raised the hatchet again, and once again brought it down on Mike's wrist, blood gushing on the floor as Mike let out another muffled scream of pain.

"One more time," Chuck said to himself as he delivered one final blow to Mike's wrist. To Chuck's relief, what was left of Mike's left hand was now totally separated from the rest of Mike's arm in a small pool of blood. After the hand was separated, Mike's eyes closed shut, and Zoey felt his grip loosen.

"Mike? Mike? Mike?! Oh God, is he dead? Tell me he's not dead!" Zoey cried, tears pouring down her cheeks. Chuck put two fingers under Mike's jaw in order to find a pulse.

"No, he's not dead. He just passed out from shock. Shawn! The procedure is complete, but Mike passed out!" said Chuck.

The zombie expert nodded and said, "Ah crap. Okay, we're gonna have to get him to the cars immediately," Shawn responded. He looked ahead and saw that even though the shooters had made a pretty good dent in the zombies, there were still dozens of them. Also, to Shawn's horror, the glass doors at the front of the mall had been busted, allowing more zombies to enter the facility.

"Connor!" shouted Shawn.

Connor shot two more zombies before turning around. "What?"

"Mike passed out from shock, and there are too many zombies! We need to leave now!" shouted Shawn.

Connor told the other four shooters what had happened, and they all gave up on trying to kill the zombies and ran back to the others. Shawn quickly slung his bags of supplies on his back and shoulders and screamed, "GO, GO! HEAD BACK TO THE PARKING DECK!" He then fired his shotgun at two advancing zombies. Everyone immediately began running from the horde, while Zoey and Chuck carried an unconscious Mike in their arms. As they ran, Anne Maria tripped and dropped her bag of supplies. However, her "supplies" only turned out to be multiple cans of hairspray and beauty products.

"Oh crap!" Anne Maria dove to the ground, trying to put everything back into the bag. When she thought she had everything, she noticed that one can of hairspray had rolled away from her and was rolling towards the zombies. "No, I'm not losing you, darling! Mama's coming!" Anne Maria ran to fetch the can of hairspray, but it had already vanished into the horde.

Cameron had noticed Anne Maria running back to get her hairspray and cried out, "Anne Maria, no! It's not worth it!" Unfortunately, the Jersey reject didn't hear the bubble-boy's protests and disappeared into the crowd of creatures. It wasn't' long before Cameron heard the oh-so familiar cries of pain and horror as Anne Maria was devoured in the center of the advancing horde. Cameron didn't have much time to react as he had to keep moving if he wished to avoid being eaten himself.

The group had made it back to the outdoors store that they had entered through. However, they had all forgotten that they all came in through only one small hole in the glass door.

"Ah shit, we REALLY don't need this right now!" complained Lightning. Chef pushed the jock aside.

"Step aside, son," said Chef. He used his Remington to blast the remaining glass on the doors. Chef cocked his shotgun and heard the empty shell fall to the floor. "All right, let's get outta here!" Chef squeezed through the doors, and was soon followed by Lightning, Sky, Kenny, DJ, Sam, Dakota, Amy, and Heather. They didn't notice it at first, but they saw that a bunch of zombies had wandered out into the parking garage and were now staggering towards them.

"Great. Juuust great," groaned Heather.

"Uh, what should we do?" asked Amy, actually displaying fear for once.

"We fight. Use your hand weapons, and once we get past them, get into your significant cars and start 'em up," said Chef. By that point, Beardo, Eva, Jo, B, Harold, Courtney, Tyler, and Roger had made their way outside into the parking garage. The sixteen of them began to chop, shoot, and stab their way through the dead. Thankfully, they all made it back to their vehicles and started them up.

Back inside, Chuck and Zoey had successfully made it out with Mike's unconscious body, and were soon followed by Sammy, Jasmine, Sugar, Leonard, Ella, Gwen, and Connor.

"I don't how much more we can take!" Topher told Shawn as he stabbed another zombie.

"Just until everyone's out safely, Toph," said Shawn as he blew another zombie's head off. He cocked the shotgun and pulled the trigger, but all he heard was a small _click._ He cursed under his breath, threw it on his shoulder, and pulled out his machete to continue his zombie killing spree.

Bridgette shot her final bullet into a zombie's head before turning to run to the exit, with Katie and Sadie in tow.

"Go go go!" shouted LeShawna as she pushed Lindsay out the door. Now, only Shawn, Topher, Scarlett, Noah, Ezekiel, Chelsea, Chris, and Geoff were left. From the looks of it, they were running getting tired pretty quickly.

"That's it. I can't take this anymore. I'm out, peace!" Ezekiel gave a peace sign and he ran through the broken glass door.

"Wait for me!" shouted Noah and he too fled the room. Scarlett, not wanting to take a chance, stabbed one last zombie before making a bolt for the door.

"All right fellas, that's enough! Let's get the fuck outta here!" said Shawn. The others wasted absolutely no time in making their way towards the exit as the undead began to overcrowd the store.

While everyone else had made it outside, Chris and Geoff were the last one to try and make it out. Geoff was about to reach the doors, but he felt a cold hand grab his ankle, and he went tumbling down. He looked down to see that a child zombie had grabbed him and was trying to bite his leg. The party boy began kicking at the creature, in an attempt to kick it off. Unfortunately, the zombie sunk its jaws into Geoff's ankle.

"Ahhhh!" cried Geoff and soon another zombie grabbed onto Geoff's other leg and bit into his other leg. Geoff tilted his head back to see that Chris hadn't exited yet, and turned over onto his stomach and grabbed Chris's bag, which was dangling low. The zombies had begun to drag Geoff towards them, so Geoff pulled really hard on the bag until Chris came toppling to the ground too.

"Hey! Let go of my bag, dude!" Chris protested, now engaging in tug-of-war with Geoff over the bag.

"You gotta help me, bra!" Geoff cried. Outside, Shawn had noticed the commotion, so he and Topher ran over to Chris. The two teens began to pull Chris back.

"Chris, it's not worth it! Let it go!" said Topher.

"Yeah, man, just let it go! Don't let Geoff drag you in with him!" added Shawn.

Chris didn't listen to the two teens, as he began kicking at Geoff, trying to get him to let go.

"Chris what the hell are you doing?!" shouted Shawn. Chris didn't answer as he continued kicking at Geoff. Out of nowhere, Chris pulled out his USP, aimed it at Geoff's shoulder, and pulled the trigger. As expected, Geoff let go of Chris's bag to grasp his shoulder.

"AHHH! What the-" Geoff didn't get to finish as Chris kicked him one last time and the zombies dragged their prey to them. For a brief moment, the three people at the doors watched in horror as Geoff was disemboweled and devoured right in front of them.

Chris squeezed through the doors, but before he could start running to the cars, Topher slammed him against the wall in anger.

"What the FUCK, Chris?!" Topher screamed. Shawn reached through the doors and grabbed Geoff's cowboy hat. It had fallen off when he was dragged into the zombie horde. He turned to leave, but looked back at the zombie feeding one last time before exiting the building. He walked over to Topher and Chris and picked up Chris's dropped bag. Shawn unzipped the bag and couldn't believe his eyes. Chris's bag contained nothing but hair gel. Bottles upon bottles of hair gel.

"Hair gel?" He picked up one of the bottles and held in front of Chris's face. "You killed Geoff for FUCKING HAIR GEL?!"

Chris didn't respond as he looked away from Shawn and Topher with embarrassment. Shawn threw the bottle back into the bag and tossed it back into the building. Topher confiscated Chris's pistol and pointed it at the back of the host's head.

"So one wasn't enough, huh?" glared Topher.

Shawn had returned to the duo and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Chris killed Owen back at the resort to ensure his own safety," answered Topher, "and just now he killed shot Geoff for a bag of fucking hair gel."

Chris didn't turn to face Topher, but his face turned into one of anger. "You bastard," he hissed.

Shawn stared at Topher for a minute, and then looked at Chris. "We'll deal with this later. Let's get to the cars and beat it." The three men ran off into the parking deck, but saw that all the cars were missing. Shawn pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Alejandro, where are you guys?"

A few seconds later, he heard a voice on the other end. _"We're fine, Shawn. I'm sorry, but you were taking so long we had to leave."_

"What's your location?" asked Shawn.

" _We're in the front parking lot. But you better hurry, because we see a lot of those things in the distance,"_ replied Alejandro. Shawn shoved the walkie-talkie back into his pocket.

"Where are they?" asked Topher, still holding Chris at gunpoint.

"They're in the front parking lot. Let's move!" Shawn, Topher, and Chris ran down the side stairs to the ground level. Once they reached the bottom, and squeezed past the toll booth, they ran outside into the blazing hot sunlight.

"Where are they?" asked Topher.

"Check around the corner," suggested Shawn. Topher and Chris looked around the corner and saw that all the vehicles were parked a good 200 feet away in a semi-circle.

"We see them. Come on!" said Topher. The three ventured through the empty parking lot towards the others, all the while looking out for any zombies. Once they reached the others, Sierra was the first to greet them.

"There you guys are! What happened back there?" Sierra asked. Bridgette stepped out and looked at the three men.

"W-Where's Geoff?" she asked concerned.

"I'll tell you where he is. This asshole shot your boyfriend and let him be eaten by those things!" Topher revealed, pointing at Chris. This statement made everyone gasp in shock.

"What?" asked Chef in disbelief.

"Yeah, and he killed him because he thought that his _hair gel_ was more important," said Shawn, adding emphasis on the term 'hair gel'. Shawn walked up to Bridgette, who was staring aimlessly into space, and handed her Geoff's cowboy hat. It took Bridgette a moment to realize what Shawn was doing and slowly took hold of her former boyfriend's hat.

"You left Geoff for dead for hair gel? That's low McClean, even for you," glared Gwen, pointing at Chris.

"Not only that, but he also killed Owen so the zombies would be distracted because he was more worried about himself making it out alive!" Topher proclaimed. This earned another series of gasps from the group.

"You told us he got bit," Dakota said to Chris.

"He did, honest! Look, who are you gonna believe? These stupid kids, or-" Chris felt something hard knock him in the nose and he fell down to the pavement. He covered his nose in pain and could already feel blood flowing out of his nostrils. He looked up to see Bridgette standing over him with a furious look on her face.

"You…you BASTARD!" Bridgette screamed as she got down and began punching Chris in the face repeatedly. It wasn't long before Zoey and LeShawna had to pull Bridgette off of Chris, who was now unconscious, his face smeared with blood.

"Calm down, girl. Just calm down," LeShawna tried to reason with the surfer. Bridgette looked at her friend, her eyes beginning to water up. She then buried her face into LeShawna's shoulder, crying hysterically.

"Connor, Sam. Toss Chris's sorry ass in the van. We'll deal with him later," Shawn said. Connor and Sam picked Chris's body up and laid him in the very back of the van. "Our mission hasn't changed, friends. We're heading for Toronto. Load up!" Everyone returned to their specific vehicles, and one by one, they all pulled out of the parking lot and drove on, with a large pack of zombies slowly following behind.

 **Wow. How about that? Chris is such an asshole, right? Hehe, well he'll get what's coming to him later, hopefully. I hope you liked this chapter; I put a lot of effort into this one. Until next time, like and review!**

 **[1]: Shawn references the movie "Dawn of the Dead (1978)". In this movie, survivors of the zombie outbreak hold up in a shopping mall. I thought it would be cool to add a reference to it. If you haven't seen it, watch the "extended mall hours" version on YouTube; it's fantastic!**

 **Alive: Chef, Shawn, Sky, Jasmine, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Sugar, Beardo, Scarlett, Leonard, Topher, Ella, Dakota, Jo, Brick, Scott, Sam, B, Cameron, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, DJ, Tyler, Harold, Heather, Cody, Gwen, Trent, Noah, Eva, LeShawna, Lindsay, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Katie, Sadie, Ezekiel, Beth, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Kenny**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max, Dave, Owen, Anne Maria, Geoff**

 **Unconscious: Mike, Chris**


	6. Pushing On

**Hey guys, I'm baaack! It's been a short while since my last update, and I apologize. I've just been so wrapped up with work and family and shit. Also, to be honest, I've had a REALLY bad case writer's block for this chapter, so if this one doesn't seem great, I'm sorry. But on a side note, happy fourth of July, and God Bless You.**

Shawn rubbed his face with a small rag as he rested in the passenger seat of the camper. He had set his shotgun upright in the floorboard, with the barrel resting against the front of the group had been driving through the city for an hour, and was now driving down a lonely two-lane road far from the city. Shawn checked his watch; it was 3:57 PM, which means the group had been on the road for about a couple of hours. He noticed that Jasmine was staring at him. "Keep your eyes on the road, Jaz," said Shawn. Jasmine obeyed and returned her attention to the road. Shawn looked behind him to check on the others.

Kenny was sleeping upright on the couch while Rodney slept on the bed in the back. Topher sat on the opposite end of the couch, staring into space. Shawn couldn't see Noah, but speculated that he was in the bathroom. Cody and Sierra were talking at the small table while Connor and Beth stood near them, talking about Chris.

"Chris McClean, a murderer. Wow, you think you know a person," said Beth.

"I knew Chris was a douchebag, but I had no idea he had the balls to commit murder," said Connor, arms crossed. He looked at Cody, who had his Bowie Knife on the table. "What do you think Shawn will do with him?"

"Beats me, dude," answered Cody. "To be honest, given that he's killed TWO people, it really wouldn't surprise me if Shawn kicked him out of the group."

"Yeah, and besides, what Chris killed Geoff for is beyond selfish. I mean hair gel? Seriously?" stated Sierra.

"You know, after Bridgette fucked up Chris, do you think she'll try to kill him?" asked Connor.

"Absolutely not," said Noah, who had exited the bathroom and walked over without anyone noticing. "I've seen enough to know that even if Bridgette is at her boiling point, she won't do any major damage."

"Yeah, but we're talking about the man who fed her boyfriend to the zeds," said Cody. "Don't you think that Bridgette will try to kill Chris?"

"Again, not possible.I mean yes, Bridgette is pissed as hell, but she's not the kind of girl to commit murder," responded Noah. "I mean she may never forgive him for it, but it's probably the farthest she'll go." The four teens looked at one another, but then they all nodded in agreement.

"Yeeaah I guess you're right, Noah," said Sierra. Noah ignored her and went to sit on the couch between Topher and Kenny.

In the SUV, Mike was still passed out from his amputation. He was sitting in the back of the car with Zoey and Harold by his side, while Cameron peered over the seat (he was once again forced to sit in the back/trunk).

"When do you think he'll wake up?" asked Harold.

"Hard to say," said Cameron. "Some people recover from unconsciousness within a few hours, while others have woken up after a couple of days."

"Well, I hope he's not out for too long. Oh God, I hope you wake up soon, Mike," said Zoey, taking ahold of Mike's hand.

"It'll be fine, Zoe," said Dakota. "Mike's a pretty tough guy; he'll pull through." She winked.

"Thanks Dakota," thanked Zoey.

Ahead in the van, Chris's limp body had been tossed into the back without a care. Heather and Courtney were staring at his body.

"I never thought McClean would do something like that," said Heather. "I mean I never liked Geoff, but still. Wow."

"I know. What do you think we'll do with him?" asked Courtney.

"Not sure. Bu one thing is for certain: Chris has become public enemy number one. From the looks of it, I don't think Chef will help his "little buddy" anymore, and Bridgette just became his number one enemy," the Queen bee replied.

"You got that right!" Chuck shouted from the driver's seat. "Hey Lightning, hand me that walkie-talkie." The jock reached into the side of Chuck's bag and handed him a walkie-talkie. Back at the mall, Chuck was able to find a couple more walkie-talkies, that way more people could communicate with each other.

"Yo Chef!" Chuck said into the device.

" _What's up?"_ Chef answered.

"I was wonderin'; will you ever forgive Chris for what he did?" Chuck expected for Chef to answer, but instead he heard a female voice on the other end.

" _NO! We'll NEVER forgive him for what he did to Geoff!"_ Chuck was confused, but he immediately heard Chef's voice.

" _Give me that, Bridgette! I'm sorry, man. Ole blondie over here is just pissed and sad that her boyfriend's gone,"_ said the cook.

"Oh okay. Well, I'm not sure when we'll stop for the night," Chuck continued.

" _Me neither, man. But we better hurry, cause I gotta piss really bad!"_ Chuck chuckled to himself, and so did Chef.

"Well, I'll talk to ya later, partner!" The late-50s cop said in his deep Southern accent.

"I'll talk to ya later, pal!" Chef set the walkie-talkie on the dashboard of the pickup. Bridgette sat next to him, crying a little more calmly and being held and comforted by LeShawna.

"Shhhh. It's all right, Bridgette," LeShawna comforted, rubbing her friend's back.

"No it's *sniffle* all right! Geoff's dead, and I won't e-ever see him –ag-again! *sniffle* I didn't even g-get to s-s-say goodbye!" stuttered Bridgette in between sniffles.

"It's, uh, all right," Chef pathetically tried to comfort Bridgette.

Back in the bed of the pickup truck, Roger, Chelsea, Sky, and Ezekiel were chatting.

"What do you think we'll do with Chris when he comes to?" asked Sky.

"Like hell if I know," said Roger, tuning his crossbow.

"My guess is either we'll leave him behind, or we'll kill him," suggested Ezekiel.

"What? No, I don't think we'll KILL him. Probably the only thing we'll do is either leave him like you said, or restrict his activities until he proves himself worthy to be trusted again," said Sky.

"Well, whatever we decide to do to that man, I hope it's fitting. I didn't interact with Geoff at all, but I hope he's honored well," said Chelsea.

"Don't worry, babe. Let's just hope that Shawn makes the right decision," said Roger before kissing his girlfriend on the lips. Sky noticed this and felt a small feeling of sadness. Seeing those two together reminded her of the few good memories she had with Dave. While they never officially gotten together, seeing Roger and Chelsea kiss made her feel sad and guilty. She looked up at the cloudy blue sky.

"I'm sorry, Dave," she whispered "for everything."

The convoy continued for another three hours before pulling into a small camping ground. Everyone exited the vehicles and gathered around in a group.

"This is where we'll set up camp for the evening," said Shawn. "I want Harold, Chef, JO, and Roger on guard duty. You guys will swap with me, Chuck, Sky, and Jasmine later on."

"When do we swap?" asked Jo.

"I don't care. I guess until you've felt like you've kept watch enough," said Shawn. JO just shrugged in response.

"Wait, do we just sleep on the ground? I'm sorry, but I don't want to ruin my perfect hair," stated Amy. "However, if we do have some stuff to sleep on, and if there isn't any room, you more than welcome to let Samey sleep on the ground!" Sammy rolled her eyes at her sister's selfishness.

"That won't be necessary. While we were exploring the mall, I was lucky enough to find us some camping gear, including tents, sleeping bags, and blankets," DJ boasted proudly. This made Amy relax a bit.

"Oh okay, great. But still if there isn't enough room, again, you guys are welcome to make Samey sleep on the ground!" Amy said.

"Trust me, Amy; there will be enough room for your sister," said Katie.

"Yeah, plus, some of us can sleep in the cars, too!" added Connor.

"Okay so we got shelter covered, but what will do for food?" asked Kenny. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked at Beardo. The beat boxer showed the man his open bags of food that they took from the shopping mall. "Oh, hehe. Oopsy." Kenny chuckled as he blushed with embarrassment.

"We'll have a light dinner, and then we'll see whatever's left we can use for breakfast," said Jasmine. "If there isn't much left, we'll just hunt."

"Who's gonna get up at such an early hour to do that?" asked Topher.

"I'll go," Roger volunteered. "I've been hunting since I was a kid, so I'll take care of it."

"I'll go with you, you know, to watch your back," said Brick.

"Okay enough jibber-jabber! Let's eat!" Izzy shouted with eagerness.

After getting some tents set up, the survivors sat down to a small dinner consisting of marshmallows, canned fruits and beans, and bottled water. They had packed so many cans of beans that it was sort of a sick miracle that Owen wasn't around to have any. He would've just stunk up the entire campsite. After they disposed of their garbage, everyone began to settle in for the night. The only people who didn't sleep in tents were Shawn, Jasmine, and Connor (who all slept in the camper) and DJ (who opted to sleep in the armored truck, out of fear of being torn open by zombies in his sleep).

Shawn and Jasmine had already changed into their pajamas in the back bedroom of the camper, while Connor chose to sleep in the small bedding compartment above the driver's cabin.

"Man, what a day!" Shawn tiredly exclaimed as he set his green tuque on the nightstand.

"Yeah, we lost two more people, and you barely got out with your own ass," added Jasmine, who too removed her signature hat and placed it on the on the nightstand. She and Shawn climbed into bed and snuggled next to one another. They were so close their faces were almost touching each other as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"I know, Jaz. What should we do with Chris?" asked Shawn.

"I don't know. It's your move to make," said the Aussie. "Speaking of Chris, where is he?"

"He's still passed out from Bridgette's little beating, so I had DJ move him to the armored truck with him," her boyfriend answered.

"Good thinkin'. We certainly don't need another death on our hands. Although, I really wouldn't care if he died," Jasmine said.

"Well, what can you do?" The two of them shared a small chuckle before kissing each other. The small kisses quickly turned into a full on make out session, the two of them moaning with pleasure.

"I don't mean to interrupt your romantic moment, but I really don't wanna fall asleep to the sound of you two having sex," they heard Connor say from across the camper.

"We're not gonna do THAT, Connor," said Shawn.

"Yeah mate, don't get your kangaroos in a bunch," added Jasmine.

"All right, but if you do, keep it down please," Connor said again.

Shawn and Jasmine looked at each other before the both said "Good night Connor."

"Good night!" said the American teen. He quickly drifted off to sleep with his nickeled Beretta 92SB at his side **[1].**

"We should get some sleep too. We'll be drivin' a lot tomorrow," said Jasmine. She kissed Shawn one more time. "G' night, love."

"Good night, Jaz," Shawn yawned as he turned over on his side. Jasmine turned out the bedside lamp and the entire camper was at peace.

Outside, the four people Shawn had assigned for guard duty were already taking their positions.

"I hope that we don't have to keep watch very long. I really want to get some rest," said Harold, who had perched on top of the camper.

"Don't worry, kid. We'll all get some sleep," said Chef from below.

"I probably won't," said Roger from the other side of the campsite. "I'm quite the insomniac, and plus Brick and I have to go hunting early in the morning."

"Wait, I though Brick was still afraid of the dark?" Harold questioned.

Jo let out a small laugh. "Haha, yeah, he still is. But to me it's just pathetic on his part."

"Everything will be fine, JO. Plus Brick has a gun now, so I think that'll make him feel a little more secured," said Chef. Jo looked over at Chef and just shrugged.

"Meh, but still it would be nice if Ole Brick-for-brains grew a pair," she continued.

Brick stuck his head out from his tent. "Hey! I do too have a pair!" He then pulled his head back inside his tent, which he shared with Kenny, Trent, Tyler, Noah, and Ezekiel.

"You know that Jo loves to mess with you, right?" said Trent.

"I know, but sometimes I really don't appreciate it," said the cadet.

"Come on man, let's try to get some sleep," said Cody.

 _*The Next Day*_

The survivors all woke up around the same time at dawn just when the sun began to rise. The group had begun to pack up their tents, when Roger and Brick emerged from the woods, carrying a large deer.

"Hope you guys are hungry, cause we got a real big one for ya!" Roger exclaimed happily.

Connor looked at LeShawna. "I've never had venison before, so this should be a fun experience."

LeShawna giggled a bit. "Yeah, I guess it will be fun for me too," she said.

Roger and Brick set their trophy on the ground next to the burn out fire pit. Chelsea walked up and hugged Roger. "How far did you guys go to find it?" she asked.

"Not very far, ma'am," Brick answered for Roger.

"Yeah, Brick and I just went about a mile or so," said Roger. Shawn and Jasmine exited the camper, yawning and stretching.

"Did you guys run into any zeds?" asked Shawn.

"Surprisingly no," said Roger. "But believe me, once we get back on the road, we'll run into a whole bunch of 'em." He turned back to Brick. "Brick help me gut this thing."

No one noticed, but Ella, Dawn, and Bridgette looked at each other with sick and worried looks on their faces.

"I REALLY don't wanna do this," said Ella.

"Me neither, Ella, but it's necessary for survival. Even if it means killing and butchering up a sweet, innocent animal," said Bridgette, her voice slowly cracking as she spoke.

After Brick and Roger gutted the deer and got the meat over a fire, the group sat down to enjoy their meaty breakfast. Since only one deer was killed, each group member had received one small sliver of meat just to keep things even. Courtney noticed that Zoey had grabbed a second plate of food and laid it beside her.

"Why'd you grab two?" Courtney asked.

"I'm going to see if Mike will wake up so I can give him his breakfast," replied the redhead. She wiped her mouth with her napkin before getting up and walking over to her and Mike's two-person tent.

"Since Zoey's going to try to wake Mike up, are we gonna try to wake Chris up?" asked Sammy. It was this statement that made everyone laugh hysterically.

"I don't think so, Sammy," said Scarlett.

"Yeah, leave him be. If he wakes up don't give him anything. He doesn't deserve it," grumbled Bridgette, picking at her plate viciously.

"Bridgette calm down, will ya?" said Scott. "Your boyfriend's dead, sure, but even selfish homicidal hosts need to eat too."

Shawn pointed at Scott. "You're right, Scott. Somebody save a little bit of food for Chris later," said Shawn.

"So what's the game plan, Shawn?" asked Eva.

"We're gonna continue heading to Toronto. If we only make occasional stops for bathroom breaks and food scavenging, hopefully we should reach my bunker within the next couple of weeks. I just hope that…" Shawn trailed off as he looked over in the direction of the armored truck. Everyone turned their heads to see what their leader was looking at: it was Chris stumbling over towards the others.

"Ooowww my head," Chris whined, rubbing his head. He noticed everyone glaring at him.

" _Buenos_ _días_ , asshole," said Alejandro.

"Well good morning to you too, Al," said Chris in response which made Alejandro cringe in annoyance. "Oo, is that breakfast? Can I have some?" Gwen, not taking her eyes off Chris, reached down beside her and tossed a small piece of venison at Chris's feet. "Well that wasn't called for. Can I have something else?"

"No, that's what you get. Now pick it up before the five second rule expires," said Izzy, taking a large bite out of her piece of meat. Chris picked up the piece of meat Gwen through at him. The venison was now covered in dirt and such. Chris got a sick look on his face, and bit into it.

"Mmm, delicious," Chris faked a smile. He then proceeded to take another bite out of the piece of meat, but he soon spat out the chewed meat and tossed the remaining meat to the ground. "Ugh, come on guys. This isn't about that whole incident back at the mall, right?"

"Uh, YEAH Chris, that's what this is about," said Heather.

"Oh come on, it was only a matter of time before party boy left us," said Chris.

"If I recall, that's the same thing you said about Owen and Dave," said Sky, crossing her arms.

"Chris, your selfishness has caused the deaths of two people, and God knows how many more you may cause," said Shawn, "and that's why you're no longer allowed to go off on your own without someone going with you. Also, Topher's keeping your pistol." Topher flashed Chris's USP, tauntingly.

"That's not fair!" Chris protested.

Bridgette stood up from her spot and said, "It's TOTALLY fair, Chris! I don't want to see any more of my friends die because of you, and it's for the best if you shut up and do what Shawn says!" Bridgette pointed at Chris.

The former host just stared at the surfer chick with an angry and surprised expression on his face, taken aback from Bridgette standing up to him. "Well excuse me," he said sarcastically, "but can I at least have something else to eat?" Roger walked over to the deer carcass, picked up its raw liver, walked over to Chris, and dropped it at his feet. Chris mumbled something to himself before returning to the armored car.

In Mike and Zoey's tent, Zoey had been trying to shake her boyfriend awake for the past couple of minutes. By this point, the food Zoey had brought for Mike was completely cold, but Zoey was too busy trying to wake him up to notice.

"Mike, Mike, wake up. You have to eat." No response. "Mike, honey, wake up." ; still nothing. Zoey stopped shaking his body and looked out the tent; the others were beginning to load up the cars. Zoey cursed silently and began to pack her and Mike's things into their bags. Just as she put her knife into her sheath, she heard something peculiar. She turned her head to see Mike's head slowly tilting from side to side, accompanied by small moans.

"No, no,no,no,no," she said to herself over and over again. This couldn't be; surely he wouldn't become a zombie, would he? He was amputated, so he couldn't become a zombie, right? Not wanting to take any chances, she removed her knife and held it at the ready, fearing the worst. She then began to softly weep. Mike's eyes began to slowly open, and he looked over in Zoey's direction. He lifted his right hand and tried to reach over to Zoey, which made her back away just a bit.

"Z-Z-Zoey?" The stammered question caught Zoey off guard. Mike's eyes opened completely, but instead of strange zombified eyes, his eyes were their regular brown color. "Zoey, is th-that you?"

Overcome with joy, Zoey dropped her knife and lifted Mike up, giving him a tight hug. "Oh thank God you're all right!" she wept with joy.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Mike as Zoey kissed him on the lips. "Where are we?"

"We're at a campsite. Well, we're about to leave as a matter of fact. Can you walk?" she asked.

Mike nodded. "Totally. It's not like I lost a foot or anything," he replied. He lifted his legs out of his sleeping bag. "Let's beat it." He and Zoey packed up the rest of their stuff (well Zoey did most of the work due to Mike's condition), and they folded up their small tent. As they walked over to their SUV, they were greeted by Brick.

"Well, glad you came to, soldier!" Brick saluted Mike.

"Thanks Brick, I appreciate it," the tall and thin teen said. The three of them piled into their vehicle along with everyone else, and the convoy continued down the narrow road. Things went smoothly, until the Camry ran out of gas and the van broke down. As a result, Jo, Leonard, Courtney, Gwen, and Ella had to ride in the armored truck, and Chuck, Heather, Lindsay, Tyler, and Lightning had to ride in the camper.

"Ugh, why does it have to be so fucking cramped in here?" asked Courtney, who was sitting on the ground in between Dawn and Leonard.

"This vehicle was not designed to hold a lot of things, not to mention people," replied Beardo.

Courtney just looked at the beat boxer, annoyed. "That was meant to be rhetorical," she said. Everyone inside soon felt the truck came to a complete stop, and everyone in the back jerked forward.

"Ow, what the hell Izzy? Did you forget to drive?" asked Heather.

Alejandro pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Shawn, what's happening? Why are we stopping?"

" _Uh, we've got a little problem…"_ said Shawn on the other end. The other vehicles couldn't see, but everyone in the front camper could see a large herd of zombies heading in their direction. And from the looks of, it looked impossible to drive through it…

 **Again, if this chapter wasn't interesting enough, I'm sorry; writer's block is a pain in the ass. Hopefully the next couple of chapters will make up for it. Keep reading and reviewing!**

 **{1}- Connor's pistol is basically the pistol the Governor used on the Walking Dead.**

 **Alive: Chris, Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Beardo, Topher, Scarlett, Leonard, Ella, Amy, Sammy, Sugar, Rodney, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Cameron, Lightning, B, Scott, Brick, Jo, Dakota, Sam, DJ, Alejandro, Sierra, Tyler, Harold, Heather, LeShawna, Lindsay, Noah, Eva, Trent, Gwen, Ezekiel, Beth, Katie, Sadie, Courtney, Izzy, Bridgette, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Kenny**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max, Dave, Owen, Anne Maria, Geoff**


	7. Death Will Have a Field Day

**Life can be a bitch sometimes, so I apologize for the late update. I feel like such a dick right now. My work hours have increased a lot these last couple weeks, and I get home so late I'm too tired to write. So, enjoy.**

Everyone who was in the camper had flocked to the front cabin to gaze at the massive horde heading their way. The horde looked like it stretched for at least half a mile, which made some of survivors question if they could make it through safely.

"That's a LOT of zombies. Do you think we can drive through them?" asked Beth.

"It's not worth the risk," said Shawn. "If we try to drive through them, they might slow us down, and then we'd be stuck."

"Well, if that's the case, are we just going to make a run for it?" wondered Topher.

Shawn nodded. "Seems so, Toph."

"Should we tell the others?" asked Connor.

"Yeah, we should," said Jasmine.

Shawn radioed Alejandro. "Alejandro, we're gonna have to escape on foot, because there's a large herd of zombies heading our way. We'll leave the cars and probably come back for them later," he said into the walkie-talkie.

" _Are you sure?"_ Alejandro asked.

"Positive."

Alejandro sighed on the other end. _"Okay. Do we just head into the woods again?"_

"Yes, tell the others to get ready, because they're getting closer." Shawn ended the conversation and shoved the walkie-talkie back into his vest pocket.

Izzy honked her horn and stuck her head out of the window. "Hey fellas, we've got zeds! We're gonna bolt on foot!" she yelled and everyone in the pickup truck hopped out. Soon after, everyone else had exited their significant vehicles, and the undead were just feet away from the group.

"Head for the woods!" Shawn ordered as he blew a zombie's head off with his shotgun. The others ran after Shawn, shooting/stabbing/decapitating zombies as they ran. Amidst the chaos, Leonard had spotted a zombie dressed in military attire staggering towards him. He had some kind weapon slung on his back, so Leonard stabbed it in the side of the head and the creature fell down face-first.

"Let's see here," the LARPer said to himself as he knelt down to pick up the weapon, which turned out to be an M16A4 assault rifle. It was equipped with a 30 round magazine and an ACOG scope.

He pulled back the cocking mechanism. "Zombies, zombies, I may be a clown. But this mighty weapon shall strike you DOOOOWN!" he chanted loudly and he immediately began shooting blindly at the horde. However, due his inexperience with firearms, Leonard didn't switch the rifle to semi-automatic, and instead fired the M16A4 in full auto. In addition, he fired from the hip instead of the shoulder, causing the majority of the bullets to hit the zombies in the abdomen.

A few of the survivors took notice of Leonard's act. "What the hell are you doing kid?!" shouted Chef, but the nerd didn't hear Chef's cries as he continued to shoot uncontrollably. In the process, one of the stray bullets struck a fleeing Beth in the side on the head and another three struck Katie in the abdomen. By that point, Chef had run off with the others, and Leonard's weapon had run out of ammunition.

Sadie grasped her best friend's corpse, her face drenched in tears. "No…Katie…no!" Sadie sobbed. She was too busy mourning Katie to notice that a zombie had grabbed ahold of her and the horde absorbed Sadie and Katie's corpse. Leonard looked in front of him and he could see Sadie having her stomach ripped open. Leonard let out a final scream as the zombies grabbed ahold of him and proceeded to bite him.

Leonard let out a small scream of pain and dropped the M16A4 before pushing the two zombies who had bitten him (he had been bitten on the shoulder and right forearm) away from him. He started sprinting towards the woods where everyone else had fled, but yet another zombie had tackled the poor teen to the ground. The rest of the dead soon advanced to Leonard, the first zombie biting on Leonard's nose. Because of this, Leonard was unable to witness the dead slowly rip him in half, internal organs beginning to slip out of place and fall out. The dead moaned higher and quickly and savagely fed on Leonard's insides.

Meanwhile, everyone else had safely made it into the woods, however there some still catching up. The group saw that in the near distance, a smaller pack of zombies were heading their way as well.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," complained Amy.

"W-What do we do now?" asked a terrified Sierra, clutching Cody tightly.

Shawn thought for a moment before saying, "Up in the trees, quickly!" One by one, each person began climbing one of the four trees that looked stable enough to hold a lot of people. Within a couple of moments, everyone except Tyler, Lindsay, Mike, Zoey, Alejandro, Connor, and B had made it up into the trees. However, Mike, Zoey, B, and Alejandro had reached the base of one of the trees.

"Mike, move out of the way!" shouted Alejandro. The teen complied and ducked down and Alejandro shot a zombie that was about to bite him.

"Thanks, man. I owe ya," Mike said. He hopped onto the tree and tried to climb up, but due to being one-handed now, he just fell onto his back.

"Aw crap. I forgot my left hand is gone," said Mike. Luckily, B had showed up too. He picked up Mike, and with all his strength, tossed Mike into the air. Mike let out a small yelp before landing on the branch that Chuck and Trent were on. "Wow that was awesome! Thanks, B!" Mike waved below, to which the silent genius retuned a thumbs up. B grabbed Zoey and flung her up onto Mike's branch as well, and then did the same with Alejandro but flung him onto Heather's branch.

Before B could start climbing the tree, he heard gunshots coming from where the group had come from. He turned to see Connor firing shots at zombies while Lindsay and Tyler ran behind him, holding hands. Suddenly, a zombie grabbed Lindsay and bit her on the shoulder.

"Noooo!" screamed Tyler. Two other zombies grabbed ahold of Tyler's girlfriend and proceeded to bite her on side and right arm. Tyler felt someone tugging his left arm and saw Connor.

"Let her go, Ty! She'll take you with her!" the teen reasoned. Tyler refused to listen and continued to hold Lindsay's hand as the rest of the herd got closer. After what seemed like an eternity, Tyler finally released Lindsay's hand. "Come on!" Connor shouted as he and Tyler ran to B. The strong silent genius wasted no time in throwing the two men up into the treetops. By the time B had started to climb the tree, the zombies had overrun the forest floor.

"What should we do now, Shawn?" asked DJ.

For once, Shawn didn't have a plan. He just sat and thought for a while before saying, "I got nothing. Anyone got any ideas?" Most of the survivors shook their heads, but Kenny looked like he had an idea.

"Um, I may have one," he said after hesitating to speak for a moment. He reached into his backpack and pulled out an orange flare gun, displaying it for everyone to see. "We can probably use this to distract them."

"Do you think that'll work?" shouted Rodney form his tree.

"Possibly," said Kenny. "If all of them don't go away, at least enough of them will leave so we can at least get out with our asses."

"Good thinkin', homie!" said Ezekiel, raising hand so Kenny can give him a high-five. However, Kenny just gave the homeschooled kid a weird look.

Kenny lowered Ezekiel's hand. "Don't…just don't," said he African man, shaking his head.

"What are ya waitin' on? Just do it already!" shouted Sugar form the branch below. Kenny aimed his flare gun ahead of the zombies. He fired a red flare thirty feet from the zombies, and in a matter of moments, a good few of zombies had stopped from trying to reach up the trees and started to wander towards the red light.

"How many shots do you have, Ken?" asked Connor. Kenny checked his backpack.

"I have two more shots. That should be enough," Kenny responded. He swiftly loaded a new flare into the orange pistol and fired another shot, this time, a little farther to the left into the woods. Once again, more of the undead left the tree bases to venture towards the fascinating red light in the forest floor. The two flares caused a good amount of smoke to rise from the flares, making it a little difficult to see the dead from the treetops.

"Good job, Kenny!" shouted Shawn. "Everybody, let's beat it before the flares ware off!"

"In case you haven't noticed, _amigo_ , there's a lot of smoke below us. How are we going maneuver through the remaining zombies if we can't see where we're going?" asked Alejandro.

"Screw that, let's go!" shouted Lightning, who hopped to the ground and began decapitating any zombie he could see. Jasmine looked at Shawn, expecting orders, but Shawn just shrugged and jumped below just as well.

"Start heading back to the cars!" shouted Shawn as he unloaded the remaining shells in his shotgun. The crowd followed Shawn as they ran back in the direction they came. Chuck looked back and saw that Lightning was still hanging back, killing zombies with his machete.

"Come on, kid! We gotta go!" the policeman shouted. Lightning ignored his pleas and continued to slaughter the dead. Chuck rolled his eyes, ran up to the jock, grabbed him by the back of the shirt, and pulled him along.

Once everyone had made it out of the woods, they saw that only a few zombies had remained to feast on the remains of the people that were killed. The gang slipped by them with no problem and quickly piled into their vehicles.

Shawn kicked a zombie that attempted to grab him and quickly shut the passenger door to the camper. "Floor it, Jaz!" he ordered and Jasmine slammed her foot down on the accelerator with great force, speeding down the road at an unbelievable speed. In the process, she managed to flatten two zombies that were eating Sadie's remains, with the other vehicles following close behind.

Kenny plucked himself down on the couch, face drenched in sweat. "Whew, man, THAT was exhilarating," he said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"You can say that again," said Cody before slamming his head down on the table.

Connor let his pistol's empty magazine fall to the table. "I cannot believe that we got out of that alive," he said, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a new magazine.

"You got that right. For a while, I thought that we weren't gonna make it," said Rodney as he walked back to the bedroom.

Connor turned to around and whistled. "Hey Rodney, some didn't make it after all. When those things grabbed Lindsay, I thought for sure that Tyler wouldn't let go of her. I feared that if he didn't, they would have dragged him down with her and maybe me if he didn't let go," he said.

"Well do you blame me?" he heard Tyler ask. Tyler was sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the camper, hugging his knees. "I couldn't just let her go!"

"Well if you held onto her any longer, they would have gotten you, too!" protested Connor.

"That's bull shit. I could've have saved her," the jock spat.

Connor laid his nickeled Beretta on the table and stood up. "Okay, let's get something straight here: saving Lindsay was suicide and you know that. I saved your life, so you should be thanking me!" the American teen said.

Without warning, Tyler leapt from the floor and tackled Connor to the ground. Tyler was only able to deliver one punch before Chuck pulled him off of Connor.

"That's enough, you two," Chuck said. He placed his hands on Tyler's shoulders. "Listen Tyler, I know you're angry and upset that you couldn't save your girlfriend and that's okay. But you can't blame Connor for this; he was only trying to help, and after all, he did save your life," the policeman reasoned. Tyler looked at the officer, then at Connor (who was clutching his injured cheek), then back at Chuck.

"Well…I guess you're right," said Tyler before helping Connor to his feet. "Sorry, man. I know you were only trying to help. Are we cool?" Tyler offered his hand for a hand shake.

"Yeah, sure. We're cool," replied Connor before shaking Tyler's hand.

"Well, glad we sorted that out, but the big question is, what we do now?" asked Topher.

"Our goal hasn't changed, Topher. We're heading to Toronto," said Shawn from up front.

"But what do we do after that?" Sierra piped up.

Before Shawn could respond, he noticed a sign on the side of the road not too far ahead. As they got closer, he saw that the sign read in bold capital letters: " **Saskatchewan-50 miles"**.

"Shawn? What the plan after Toronto?" Shawn snapped back to reality and turned to Topher.

"What? Oh, uh, I'm not sure. I guess we'll just see when we get there," the teen stated. _'But let's just hope that we don't run into any trouble along the way,'_ he thought.

* _Two Weeks Later*_

The journey through Saskatchewan proved to be surprisingly smooth, because the group only came across two big herds, as they avoided the cities and stuck to the back roads. However, the journey through Manitoba was a bit rocky, as their camp was almost overrun one night by a passing herd. By now, the convoy was getting very close to reaching the Manitoba-Ontario border. Along the way, the group picked up three more survivors: Nicole, Vince, and Miguel.

Nicole, who was their leader, and her friends were rescued form zombies by Shawn and the others when they were passing through Manitoba. Nicole appeared to be about 18 or 19 years old and was about average height with green eyes and light blonde hair that she kept in a small braided ponytail. She wore a denim jacket that was unzipped, revealing a white tank top. She also wore dark blue skinny jeans, a small brown belt, and brown T-strap sandals. Nicole carried a hunting knife and a Walther P99 handgun as her weapons of choice.

Vince, who appeared to be in his mid to late 20's, was a very tall man. He was about a head shorter than Jasmine, with blue eyes and short but shaggy dark brown hair that covered half of his ears. Vince wore a light grey hoodie, ripped light blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots. For his weapons of choice, he carried an M14 semi-automatic rifle and a Bowie knife.

Miguel was a young Brazilian man in his early 30's with green eyes and short spiked black hair. He was about Sky's height and wore small glasses. He wore a black T-shirt with blue jeans and brown sandals, and his only weapon was a shotgun with a ridiculously long barrel but short magazine tube.

Right now, the group was making a rest stop just a couple of miles from the Ontario border, while Shawn, Nicole, Bridgette, Vince, and Roger cleared out a small market.

"Does anyone have any spare shotgun shells?" Miguel asked.

Chef shrugged. "Sorry man, I'm down to my last five shells," the cook replied.

Miguel's face fell. "Aw man, thanks anyway."

"Ugh, how long are Shawn and them gonna be in there?" LeShawna asked, fiddling with her machete.

"Just give them some time," said Chris bluntly, sitting on the camper steps.

Soon after Chris said this, Shawn and company exited from the small market. Nicole, Roger, and Bridgette had a small bag of supplies they found inside slung on their backs.

"Find anything?" Connor asked.

"We found dried food, but not a lot of it," replied Bridgette, who was now wearing Geoff's cowboy hat. "We also found some personal necessities and this." She reached into the back of her shorts and pulled out a blued Colt Python revolver with a six-inch barrel.

"Where did you find that?" asked Courtney.

"We found it in the back room inside one of the storage cabinets," said Shawn. "as well as this bad boy." He proudly held shotgun with a sawed off barrel and stock in the air.

"Ooo that's nice. Can I have it?" asked Chris.

Shawn laughed. "You think I'm gonna let YOU have this? No way, Chris. We don't want another repeat of Owen and Geoff," their leader said. The mention of Geoff's name made Bridgette appear sad and weak. Connor could sense this and decided to comfort her.

"Hey, it's all right. Geoff's in a better place, so you have nothing to worry about," he said.

Bridgette looked at her friend with a small smile. "Thanks, Connor. I really appreciate it," she said after a pause.

Chris's face fell in disappointment. "Okay, I get it, you guys are still pissed that I'm responsible for two people dying. Haven't you forgiven me already?" This earned some uncaring glares from most of the group. When no one responded, Chris sighed. "Okay, I guess not."

"Can we leave already? I think it's about to storm," said Vince.

"Yes, we should. We're getting closer everyone, so be on your guard!" Shawn proclaimed. He handed the sawed off shotgun to Lightning. "Here you, Lightning. Try to not kill anyone with it," Shawn said before walking into the camper.

Lightning looked at his new weapon and almost jumped with joy. "Aw hell yeah! Lightning's gonna screw up a bunch of zeds with this baby!" he stated happily before following Shawn into the camper. Everyone else began to pile into their vehicles.

"How many more days do you think it'll be before we reach Shawn's bunker?" Nicole asked Dakota.

"According to Shawn, hopefully within the next week, tops," Dakota replied.

As the gang started up their engines and pulled out onto the main road once more, dark clouds began moving closer and thunder crackled in the sky. Unbeknownst to the group, their entire convoy was being observed through a pair of binoculars. Hidden by the sanctity of the woods, two men watched as the group left the area and sped down the road quickly.

"That's a whole lot of 'em. What do you think, Brian?" he first man, who appeared to be in his mid-40's asked the man with the binoculars. The other man, who appeared to be in his late 30's, removed his binoculars.

"We could use a big bunch like them," Brian said as he pushed his shaggy light brown hair to the side.

"When should we do it? Now, or tonight?" the other man asked, who was bald.

Brian thought for a moment before saying to his companion, "Tonight, when they least expect it. We'll bring a few more with us, but be sure they come heavily armed. Because from the looks of it, they look pretty tight, but not enough to defeat us," Brian said. The two men chuckled sinisterly before Brian retuned to using the binoculars.

"They have no idea what's comin', Pete. They have no fuckin' idea…"

 **I really can't express how much I feel like a piece of shit for keeping you guys waiting. I know you guys expect great chapters and quick updates, but life just gets you sometimes, you know? I'm currently working on a major plotline for the next couple of chapters, but I fear that updates will be a little longer due to work and I need time to come up with good material. Leave comments, like and follow if you want to see more of Shawn and the gang!**

 **Alive: Chris, Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Topher, Ella, Beardo, Scarlett, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Sugar, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, Cameron, B, Dakota, Sam, Scott, Jo, Brick, Alejandro, Sierra, DJ, Tyler, Harold, Heather, Cody, Trent, Gwen, Noah, Eva, LeShawna, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Ezekiel, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Kenny, Nicole, Vince, Miguel, Brian, Pete**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max, Dave, Owen, Anne Maria, Geoff, Beth, Katie, Sadie, Leonard, Lindsay**


	8. Taken

**Not much to say here, so, enjoy.**

The convoy sped down the small road, the storm looming ahead. In the woods, Brian and Pete followed the group on their motorcycles. Brian reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"Sal? You there, Sal?" Brian asked into the device. After a few seconds, a man with a raspy voice answered on the other end.

" _What do you pricks want? I'm in the middle of something."_

"We found some more people, but we're probably gonna need at least two of the trucks," Brian said.

" _Did you spot any girls of interest?"_ Sal asked.

"There's a blonde girl with a cowboy hat; pretty face, perfect breast size, I think I may keep her for myself, hehe," the man chuckled. "Anyway, tell Tanner, Blake, and Nathan to get two of our trucks ready. We're gonna attack tonight, while they sleep."

" _Okay, one of you are gonna stay, right?"_ he heard Sal ask.

"Yeah, Pete's gonna stay and keep an eye on 'em while I head back to base," Brian said.

" _Okay, I'll see ya in a bit."_ Brian shoved the walkie-talkie back into his pocket.

"I'm gonna head back to base, Pete. Once they park for the night, contact me about their location. We don't want a repeat of last time," Brian said. Pete just nodded and sped faster through the forest while Brian turned around and sped off in the other direction.

In the camper bathroom, Miguel could be heard puking.

"Hurry up, Miguel! I'm about to piss myself," Heather barked outside the bathroom door, clutching herself. Thankfully, the Brazilian man exited the cramped room after Heather finished her sentence.

"I apologize for hogging the bathroom, but you have to understand that motion sickness is a serious matter," Miguel stated, adjusting his small glasses.

"Yeah, well, my bladder about to explode is a serious matter too, so move!" Heather pushed Miguel aside to enter the bathroom.

In the back bedroom, Nicole sat on a small wooden chair, loading bullets into one of pistol magazines while Rodney watched her from the bed.

Nicole noticed Rodney staring at her with a small smile on his face. "Is something wrong, Rodney?" she asked.

The large farm boy snapped out of his gaze. "Huh, what? Oh, uh, nothing's wrong, hehe," he blushed as he faked a laugh. Nicole shrugged and went back to loading her magazine. She never watched Total Drama, so she was unaware of Rodney's reputation of falling for every pretty girl he saw. Suddenly, a loud crackle was heard, and soon everyone heard the familiar sound of rain hitting the roof of the camper.

"Well, that's great," Noah said sarcastically. "Camping in the rain is going to be a blast."

"Oh, quit your whinin'," said Chuck. "A little rain never hurt you."

"When are we gonna stop for dinner?" Kenny asked.

"We'll stop in a moment. Hopefully the storm won't last very long," said Shawn from the front seat.

 _*Three Hours Later*_

"Okaaay, maybe not," Shawn said as he, Jasmine, Connor, Nicole, Rodney, Chuck, Miguel, and Heather sat in the camper, listening to the rain pour down hard and thunder boom loudly in the night sky. The people in the armored truck were able to sleep inside it, but everyone else was forced to sleep in their tents outside in the rain. Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky for a brief second.

"This is bogus," said Vince from inside his tent.

Roger shrugged. "Meh, it could be worse. A hurricane could be ripping this forest to shreds, and we would have hardly any place to hide," the archer said.

"That, and we could be facing zombies right now," Cameron added. The two men looked at each other and decided that the scrawny teen was right.

"Yeah, I guess it could be worse," Vince concluded.

In Mike and Zoey's tent, Zoey was helping Mike remove the bloodied bandage from his stump.

"Your wound healed quite nicely," Zoey complimented.

"Thanks, Zoey," said Mike.

"I'm sorry you lost your hand," his girlfriend said.

"It's fine. It's a good thing I'm right-handed," Mike said in return. He pulled Zoey close to him in a hug. "Do you think we'll find a place to settle down?"

Zoey looked at Mike. "I hope we do. I don't wanna spend the rest of my life roaming around the forest," she said. "But, I'm sure things will look up very soon." She and Mike embraced once more as another bolt of lightning lit up the night sky.

* * *

About a hundred feet from the campsite, Pete waited one his motorcycle while holding an umbrella over his head. _'Come on, Brian. What's taking so long?'_ he thought to himself. To kill time, he began twirling his Colt Python on his finger like a cowboy, whistling as he did so. This continued for about four minutes until he heard the engine of another motorcycle roll up next to him. Brian had arrived.

"Well, it's about time you showed up," said Pete. He looked around for a moment. "Where're the trucks?"

"Here they come," Brian pointed back to where he had come. Two small delivery trucks so pulled out from the open road and onto the edge of the woods. What was odd was that the trucks parked in such a way that the rear doors were facing the woods. Brian and Pete walked up to the window of the first truck and the window rolled down to reveal a man in his mid-50's with Indian skin, a thick black mustache and short jet black hair.

"Are the zeds ready, Nathan?" Pete asked.

"You betcha!" Nathan replied. "They're all in the back, but just be careful when open the door. Remember what happened last time?"

Brian and Pete remembered very clearly what their comrade was talking about. The last time they did a mission like this, two of their men were killed by their own zombies due to clumsiness and the lack of proper precautions.

Brian shuddered at the memory of it. "Yes, we remember. Do you have the cloaks?"

Nathan nodded. "Yes. They're on the other side. And since it's raining, I've got two extra-large umbrellas for y 'all," the Indian said. Brian and Pete walked over to the other side of the delivery truck, opened the passenger door and retrieved two cloaks that had been pre-soaked in zombie blood and guts. The driver of the other delivery truck, a man in his mid-40's with shoulder-length light brown hair, a small goatee, and green eyes emerged out of his vehicle wearing a cloak as well while holding an umbrella over his head.

"Can we get on with this? I wanna get back to base and get some rest," the other driver said in a deep voice.

"We'll get to it, Blake, just chill out," said Pete as he put on his cloak while Brian held his umbrella over the former to prevent the zombie guts from washing away.

"I've got the goodies, gentlemen," said a fifth man, who came walking up behind Blake wearing Aviator sunglasses. He had short and spiky blonde hair and was carrying a large box of guns in his hands. "Take whatcha want."

The three men selected their weapons. "Thanks for pickin' these out, Tanner," Pete said as he cocked M4A1 equipped with a silencer, a night vision scope, grip, and top rail laser.

"Ready?" Pete asked Brian.

Brian cocked his Ithaca 37 shotgun. "Ready," he replied.

"All right, let's score us some new ones." Pete and Brian went over to the back of Nathan's truck. Pete placed his hand on the door handle while Brian aimed his shotgun at the door. Brian nodded for Pete to open the door and in one swift movement, twisted the handle and let the large white door slide up. It didn't take long for the zombies to pour out of the truck, stumbling into the rain while Pete and Brian watched from the sides. Around this time, Blake and Tanner had opened their truck an allowed their zombies out. About twenty zombies had piled out of each truck, equaling up to forty zombies in total, all making their way into the forest towards Shawn's campsite.

* * *

"How many 9-mils do you have, Chuck?" Connor asked, counting his ammunition.

The policeman, who was in the middle of cleaning his Glock 17, checked his three magazines. "Uh…I've got about two full mags and one with only three more left. And I just used up the last ammo box to fill up these mags," Chuck answered.

Connor's face fell. "Dammit. Out of the three magazines I have, I only have one with ammunition in it, but it only has nine bullets," the teen said.

"I may have some spares," Nicole piped up. She unzipped her duffel bag and pulled out one small box of 9mm ammunition. "Catch!" She tossed the box to Connor.

"Wow, thanks Nicole. 'Appreciate it," he said after he caught it.

"Yeah, and speaking of that, we need to watch our ammunition. We haven't found any spare ammo in the last few days, so it's good if we-" Jasmine was interrupted by the sound of someone screaming, followed by gunshots. Shawn got up from the couch and looked out the window. It was a little difficult to see due to the storm, but he could make out the shape of Vince firing his M14, with Roger at his side swinging his machete. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, and Shawn could see the swarm of zombies descending upon the campsite. To his horror, he could also see Sugar being dragged out of her tent by two zombies.

"Oh shit!" Shawn yelped. He grabbed his Remington and flung the door open, joining the fray.

"Shawn, what are ya doing?" Jasmine shouted out the door.

"There're zombies upon us, we have to help!" Nicole said as she chambered a round in her P99 and she too ran outside to help.

"Nicole, wait for me!" Rodney exclaimed and quick as that, he made his way out of the camper. Jasmine looked at Connor, Heather, Miguel, and Chuck before moaning in annoyance.

"Come on, let's go," she said as she drew her Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan revolver. The other four drew their weapons and followed the survivalist outside to help fight.

The two zombies that dragged Sugar out of her tent were now actually tearing pieces of her flesh from her plump body. Shawn ran up and used the stock of his shotgun to bash the first zombie's face, while he blew off a large portion of the other zombie's face. He looked down at Sugar's body to observe the damage; a large part of her right cheek had been bitten off, and her left breast had been slightly torn from her chest. Shawn chambered a new shell in his shotgun and fired at Sugar's face, putting her out of her misery.

Gwen fired the last two shots from her Sig Sauer. "I need more ammo!" she shouted. She ran back to her tent to retrieve her spare magazine, but before she could even get a few feet, Brian flung a large burlap sack over Gwen's body.

"Hey! What the hell?!" Gwen shouted from inside the burlap sack. Brian hoisted Gwen over his shoulder and ran back to the trucks.

Brick and Jo both shot two zombies that were about to attack LeShawna as she struggled to remove her machete from a dead zombie's skull. "Whoa, thanks y'all!" she shouted thankfully. The two teen then split off to fight more zombies, but unseen by Brick or LeShawna, Pete threw a burlap sack over Jo's body and ran off with her squirming inside the sack.

"Shawn, do you see any more of them?" shouted Chef to Shawn, who was reloading his Remington. Before the teen could answer, Nathan had knocked Shawn in the back of the head with his AKM, and Shawn collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Whoa what the-" Chef began to say but Blake and Brian had knocked the cook unconscious as well, and the two men picked up his body and ran towards the trucks. As for Nathan, the Indian man threw Shawn over his shoulder and ran after his comrades. Scarlett had just finished stabbing a zombie in the face when Pete threw a bag over her body and ran off with her.

Once the four men reached the trucks, they threw their victims into the back of the delivery trucks. By this point, the men had ditched their zombie cloaks. "Where's Tanner?" Nathan asked.

"I'm here!" they heard a voice say. They turned to see Tanner with another victim over his shoulder: it was Ella, bleeding from the back of the head. "This one was out in one blow."

"All right, go back and get two more people. Oh, and uh, be sure to flatten their tires too. We don't want them coming after us if they discover our operation," said Pete. Tanner nodded and ran off with his silenced bolt-action sniper rifle. Once he reached the campsite, he aimed his sniper rifle at the camper's right front and rear tires and shot both of them with perfect accuracy, even in the stormy night. He then turned and shot the armored truck's front tires and the front tires of the pickup truck.

"That should do it," Tanner said to himself. He slung his weapon on his back, took out a burlap sack, ran up behind an unsuspecting Kenny, and threw it over his body before running away. However, he accidentally slammed into Heather, who had fled the campsite. Before Heather could say anything, Tanner delivered a swift punch to her nose, and she was out in an instant. "That's one more bitch to fuck," Tanner said with a snicker. He threw Heather over his other shoulder and ran off. When he reached the delivery trucks, he tossed his two victims into the back, slammed the door shut, hopped in, and the two trucks sped off into the night, with Brian and Pete following behind on their motorcycles.

Back at camp, Ezekiel jammed his knife into the final zombie's neck, but unfortunately this didn't kill the creature and it tackled the poor teen to the ground. Ezekiel was pressing his right arm against the zombie's throat to keep the zombie's jaws at bay. After a few seconds of struggling, his arm grew weak and gave in, and the zombie fell on top of him. Bridgette saw what was happening, so she ran up to the zombie and pulled the beast off of Ezekiel and slammed her machete into its skull.

"Th-Thanks," Ezekiel said, sitting up. Bridgette gave a small, emotionless nod before walking off. To everyone's relief, the storm had passed over, and the rain left with it.

Jasmine let the empty shell casings in her revolver fall to the forest floor. "Whew, that was close," she sighed. "Is everyone all right?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Sky. "But we lost Sugar."

Chris leaned against the side of the armored truck, out of breath. "Shit, that was intense," he said. Scott walked up and rested against the truck too.

"Oh yeah? Remember that night a couple of weeks ago in Manitoba? I nearly got my neck torn open and Izzy almost slashed Connor's back because she was going wild with her machete," the farm boy reminisced.

Chris thought for a minute. "Oh yeah, that was bad too."

Chelsea looked around the campsite. "Hey, where's Kenny?"

"Yeah and where's Heather?" Alejandro asked, worried.

Chuck did a head count, and he noticed that more people were missing. "We're missing Heather, Kenny, Scarlett, Ella, Gwen, Chef, Jo, and Shawn," Chuck concluded. The last name made Jasmine's eyes widen in shock.

"What?! Shawn's missing?" the Aussie exclaimed.

"Calm down, girl," LeShawna said, patting Jasmine on the back. "But the question is, where did they go?"

Everyone talked amongst themselves, trying to decipher what exactly happened. Sammy then thought of something, "Oo! Maybe they ran off-" She was cut off by Amy.

"They ran off into the woods! I thought of it! Me!" Amy exclaimed like a little child bragging to their parents about accomplishing something, which made her sister glare at her annoyingly.

"Huh, I guess that would seem plausible," said Courtney.

"Should we try to go after them?" Nicole asked.

"We'll try to find them in the morning, when we've gotten our rest," said Chuck. This statement made Brick a little uneasy.

"Whoa, what? You never leave a man behind, and you certainly don't postpone a search party just because you're tired! We need to look for our friends, now!" the cadet protested.

Vince placed his hand on Brick's shoulder. "Hey man, I know you have your code, and that's totally fine. But Chuck's got a point; we need to get some sleep, otherwise we'll be worn out tomorrow," the tall man said.

"Can we stop this and just go back to bed? I've already lost too much sleep as it is, and I REALLY don't wanna lose any more," Chris said. This earned him some glares from other members of the group, but they quickly brushed it off, as Chris had been complaining about lack of sleep for the past week.

"Fine, Mc-Lame, let's go to bed," said Eva and walked off to her tent.

Cody let out a small yawn. "Yeah, good night guys!" he said before walking off. Sierra ran after him eagerly, but Cody noticed this and quickly spat out, "No, Sierra! I told you, you have you own tent, I can take care of myself!"

"But what if more of those things come back? Plus, I have a gun and you don't," Sierra stated, holding up the Colt Python that Bridgette found earlier.

"While that may be true, I want my space," Cody continued. Realizing she wasn't getting anywhere, Sierra pouted and hung her head before turning around and making her way to her tent. Cody sighed in relief.

"You can't catch a break, can ya?" he heard Sam ask.

Cody turned to the gamer and said, "Nuh-uh. I mean, I don't know how many times I have to say it to her," the poor geek said.

"Well, hey, it could be worse. She could rape you in your sleep," Sam said which made Cody shudder.

Cody scratched the back of his head like he had something to confess. "Uh, wel…she actually did try to undress me one time while I was napping," he said after a moment. Sam's positive face soon turned to one of shock.

"Holy crap. Are you serious?" Sam asked.

Cody nodded. "Sadly, yes. But she hasn't done it again after I told her nicely, so… yeah."

"Come on, Sam! Let's go to bed!" Dakota called from her and Sam's tent.

"Well, great talking with ya, but I got a girl waiting, so…" And with that, Sam ran to his tent, leaving Cody to walk back to his tent alone.

In his one-person tent, Ezekiel was inspecting his right arm; it had a small bite mark on it. While the zombie didn't exactly tear any flesh from his arm, the bite was bloody and already looking infected. Also, he had his hoodie sleeve covering his arm, so even though the zombie had bitten down really hard, the sleeve acted as a shield of some sort.

"No,no,no,no,no,no,no,no," Ezekiel whispered to himself over and over again.

' _Maybe I can try to cover it up. Yeah, yeah, I think this could work,'_ he thought to himself _. 'I just wonder how long I can pull it off…'_

In the camper bedroom, Jasmine lay in bed, thinking about Shawn. _'Oh God, please let Shawn be all right. I don't wanna lose him,'_ she pleaded in her head. Then, another thought crossed her mind: ' _Hm, I wonder where they all went?'_

* * *

After about an hour of driving, the convoy that carried Shawn and the other captives pulled up to the front gates of a strange compound out in the country. From the looks of it, it looked like an abandoned factory, with a large field about a mile from the property, and a small parking lot that separated the gates from the main building. Nathan rolled down the window and said, "Yo, Sal! Open up for us!" A man who appeared to be in his mid-60's stepped out from the shadows on the other side of the gates. He had a very small dark grey comb-over that was barely noticeable, he was wearing a dark grey T-shirt with a black leather jacket over it that was zipped up, dark blue jeans, and black cowboy boots. He also had green eyes and an Uzi slung on his shoulder, which he held onto tightly.

Without a word, Sal pulled out a large key ring from his jacket pocket, turned the large lock, and pulled the two large gates open so the convoy could enter. After pulling into a parking space, Nathan and Blake put their vehicles in park, and they and the other three men hopped out to retrieve the prisoners while Sal locked the gates back.

"How many did you fellas get?" Sal asked in a weak voice when he walked over.

"Eight," said Brian as he hoisted Ella's unconscious body over his shoulder. "Hey, could ya give us a hand with them?"

"Sure," said Sal. He hoisted the bag that held Kenny over his shoulder, while Pete, Nathan and Blake grabbed the other six. "What do ya think? Should we take them to Travis now, or in the morning?"

Pete thought for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought. "Meh, we'll do it tomorrow. Plus, you know what happens when someone wakes up Travis," the gang leader said. The six men walked towards the main factory doors, all of them eager to get some rest. The unconscious victims had no idea what was in store for them when they woke up…

 **Like I said earlier, I need OC ideas, so if y'all could send me PMs or leave comments I'd appreciate it. Until next time, ciao!**

 **Alive: Chris, Jasmine, Sky, Topher, Beardo, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, B, Cameron, Sam, Dakota, Brick, Scott, Alejandro, Sierra, DJ, Tyler, Harold, LeShawna, Eva, Noah, Trent, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Nicole, Vince, Miguel, Pete, Brian, Sal, Nathan, Blake, Tanner**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max, Dave, Owen, Anne Maria, Geoff, Beth, Katie, Sadie, Leonard, Lindsay, Sugar**

 **Bitten: Ezekiel**

 **Captured and Unconscious: Shawn, Chef, Ella, Scarlett, Heather, Jo, Gwen, Kenny**


	9. Welcome to Hell

**Well, it's about that time again! Meowth's Toon Dragon, you've waited a while, but your OC's are here! ;) Also, this is the first chapter where I will introduce a character from the Ridonculous Race. Also, starting in the next chapter, I'm gonna start adding a brief summary of the previous chapter into the author's note. Enjoy!**

The six men entered the building of the factory, Tanner quietly shutting the two large doors behind him. The men then proceeded down a dimly-lit corridor before making a left turn down another corridor. The hallways had at least one or two doors on each side, which led into offices (which had been converted to living quarters). They came to a door that led down into the basement of the facility. Sal reached into his leather jacket pocket and retrieved his key ring once again, this time choosing the smallest key and inserted it into the lock. The door slid open with ease, and the men descended down a wooden staircase into the darkness.

"Turn on the light, Blake," Pete ordered. Blake did as he was instructed and flipped a small light switch on the wall. The room was then lit up by only three lightbulbs that seemed to be running low on energy, giving the room a slightly spooky feel. There were three large cells that took up most of the space: the first was the one on the left side of the room, the second in the very center wall, and the final one occupying about 3/4s of the right wall. Inside the cells, men of various ages and sizes could be seen sleeping on the cold concrete floor.

One man who appeared to be in his late 50's with a five o' clock shadow and wearing a Dodger's baseball cap sat up and yawned. "Is it work-time, already?" he asked.

Pete banged his Smith and Wesson Model 19 revolver on the cell. "Shut up, Bill. Go back to sleep," he barked. Sal unlocked the center cell and pushed it open with his foot.

"All right, boys, bring 'em in," said Sal. One at a time, Sal, Pete, Brian, Tanner, Nathan, and Blake walked into the large cell and dumped their victims on the ground. Thankfully, Shawn and Heather had regained consciousness, but Ella still remained silent and still. For the ones who were in sacks, they were opened up and dumped out without a care.

Jo sat up and rubbed her head. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" she complained.

Pete smacked Jo across the face with the buttstock of his M4A1. "Shut it, blondie! You're our property now, so shut up and get some sleep. Y'all got quite a day ahead of you tomorrow," Pete declared, slamming the door with a loud " **clang!"** The six men began to walk back up the stairs, but not before turning out the lights, plunging the room into darkness.

Chef ran up to the cell door and tried to pull it open with all his strength, but to no success. "You can't keep us in here, you fuckers!"

"Just forget it, man. They won't listen," a voice said form the opposite side of the cell. Shawn and the others looked to see where the voice had come from. Someone lit a match and lit a small candle on an old-fashioned candlestick that could be held with just your finger. The person held up the candle, revealing him to be a teenager with long black hair that surpassed the nape of his neck and ice blue eyes. He was around Shawn's height, and from what everyone could see, he wore a black T-shirt with a large yellow sun in the center and khaki shorts.

"Joshua? What's wrong?" a young voice came from the darkness.

Joshua, not taking his eyes off of Shawn and company, answered, "Everything's fine, bro."

"Oh, so we got some new cellmates?" another voice came from the darkness, this one much deeper than the first one.

"It appears that we do," said the teenager. He laid the candlestick on the ground and sat down cross-legged, revealing that he was wearing black sandals. He motioned for the others to join him. "Come, sit."

Shawn hesitated, but eventually gave in and joined Joshua on the floor. The other newcomers soon followed.

"Oh God, this floor is so dirty!" Heather said in disgust.

"After a while, you get used to it," said Joshua. "Ryan, Miles, come say hello to our new friends!" Two people emerged from the blackness, a small boy and a large man.

The man was rather tall and very muscular, and he appeared to be in his mid-20's or so. He had light African skin, short black hair, and dark eyes. He wore a small golden chain around his thick neck, a salmon-colored shirt with a stick figure holding up a large barbell, purple athletic shorts, and violet sneakers **[1].**

The small boy, on the other hand, was short and rather thin. He appeared to be around the age of 10 or 11, with short tufted ginger hair, pale skin, and ice blue eyes just like Joshua. As for his outfit, he simply wore a plain white T-shirt, orange shorts, and blue sandals.

"Who are you?" asked Shawn.

"The name's Prower. Joshua Prower," said the teen, extending his left hand. Shawn slowly reached out and shook Joshua's hand. "And this is my borther, Miles and that's Ryan."

"I'm Shawn," Shawn introduced. "and this is-"

"I already know who you guys are. You're from Total Drama, aren't you?" asked Joshua.

Chef nodded. "Yeah, we are."

"Are you a fan?" Gwen asked.

"Oh yes, I'm a very big fan! In fact, I auditioned for Total Drama many times, but unfortunately I never got a call back," said Joshua.

"Who's that girl over there?" Miles asked, pointing to Ella's unconscious body.

"Oh, that's Ella. She's still knocked out from the attack," said Kenny.

Shawn looked around the cell, and then to the other cells and their occupants. "What is this place?" he asked.

"Before I answer your question, answer mine: Do you believe in Hell?" asked Joshua.

"Yeah."

"Then welcome to Hell, my friend," the shaggy teen said. "But to answer your question, this used to be a firearms factory, but now those swine have converted it into a prison camp."

"They go out and kidnap anyone they can find to work," said Ryan. "They make the men work out in the field, Tending to crops and such, while they divide the women amongst themselves."

"Uh….what do you mean by that?" Scarlett asked, feeling uneasy. Even though she knew very well what Ryan was talking about, she felt she had to ask anyway.

"The bad men…they….they divide the women amongst themselves to use as sex slaves," Miles answered.

All the girls looked at one another with shock and disgust. "Y-You can't be serious, right?" Heather asked after a pause.

The ginger nodded. "I'm sorry miss, but I'm afraid that that's the truth. Since you ladies were brought in tonight, they'll settle who gets who tomorrow," Miles informed.

"Nuh-uh, there ain't no way am I gonna be some guy's personal sex object!" Jo protested, her nose stained with blood from Pete's assault.

"How long have you three been here?" Chef asked.

"Miles and I were brought in three days ago. Before this, we were traveling with our family, trying to find a safe place to hide. Toronto was declared a safe-zone, so we tried there. We all stayed for about four days until the dead broke through the defenses, so we tried to make a run for it. I…" Joshua paused, as if trying to find the right words to say. "I saw our little sister Kathryn and our dad go down, and our dad also ended up taking our other sister Lori down with them. Just when we had reached the edge of the city, our uncle, Jim, was hit in the head by a stray bullet," Joshua concluded, his face low and sad.

"Did you have a mother?" asked Jo.

Miles started crying while clutching a small stuffed fox he was holding onto, which nobody really noticed. Joshua took notice of this and held his brother closely. "Fox Boy and I are the last members of our family. Our mom was with us for a good while after we escaped. However, she was bitten along the way….she….she told us to be strong and keep going. She told us to look out for each other, no matter what, and to this day, if anyone tries to hurt my brother….I will not hesitate to kill them….We put her down before she could come back and we buried her later that evening. We wandered the wilderness for about a week before we were kidnapped and brought here."

Shawn couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the guy. "I'm sorry about your loss. What about you Ryan?" he asked.

"My girl Stephanie and I were traveling with three of our friends for a while. After wandering the road for days, we made camp on the field by this place, but we had no idea that these dicks were running it. Two of the guards that brought you guys in, Pete and Blake, captured us when we first woke up because they were apparently on morning patrol," explained Ryan. "We were brought to their leader, Travis, to decide what to do with us. Since Blake and Pete had brought in a decent amount of people, Pete was given one of Stephanie's friends, Amanda, while Blake was given Stephanie herself as "rewards for their effort". When I tried to protest and attack Travis, I was beaten by Brian and Sal. They wanted to kill me, but Travis said that my strength is crucial so they sent me and the other guy in our group, Brad, to work in the field. And not only do the men rape their sex slaves, they also abuse and torture them if they don't do as their told, and sometimes they get beat up for no reason!"

Ryan's face had now turned to one of anger and sadness. "But let me tell you this: we're gonna bust out one day, and when we do…..I will make both Travis and Blake pay for what they've done," he declared, fists clenched.

Joshua patted Ryan on the shoulder. "Don't worry pal, we're gonna get out of here. Well, we better get some sleep, because the guards don't like tired workers," he said. He then blew out the candle and returned to his side of the cell with his two companions while Shawn and his friends went back to their side.

Before he shut his eyes, Shawn said, "Good night guys!"

"Good night!" most of the cellmates said.

 _*The Next Morning*_

The tranquility of the forest never felt so real; the sun was just barely peeking through the trees, the birds were singing their morning songs, and the rest of Shawn's group slept peacefully within their camp. Chris emerged from his tent, yawning and then scratching his back. He saw that no one else had woken up yet, and the zombies that had attacked them the previous night had not been removed from the campsite. He also saw that Sugar's corpse had not been moved either, her mauled and lifeless body lying in front of her tent.

Chris looked over and saw Dawn sitting on a tree stump, meditating. Chris slowly walked up behind her, trying to remain as quiet as possible.

"I know you're there, Chris. I can sense your aura from here," Dawn said.

"You know I hate it when you do that," the former host griped.

"Most people I know hate it too, but I've gotten used to the criticism," she said, turning to Chris with one open eye. "I can also sense that your aura is more black and ugly than usual, and your mood is aggravated. Let me guess, you're not happy with Shawn are you?"

Chris made Dawn scoot over so they now both shared the tree stump. "Well…yeah, I am," said Chris.

"And you're also slightly mad at Topher, correct?" she asked again.

"Correct again," he said.

"You know that everyone doesn't like you right now because of the horrible deeds you've committed, accompanied by your general selfishness," Dawn stated.

Chris looked at his knees. "Well, do you blame me? I mean…that's just the way that I am."

"Maybe so, but in this world now, selfishness is not acceptable. We need each other, and your selfishness had gotten two of our own killed. We can't have that anymore; I know that you're mad with Shawn and Topher for ratting you out, but you have to understand that Shawn is only trying to do what's right," said Dawn.

Chris looked at Dawn. "I know that, but how come he gets to be leader? Sure, he may know a lot about zombies, but that doesn't mean he gets to be leader!" he protested.

"Maybe not to you, but Shawn knows a lot about these things, so it's just for the best. Maybe if you showed some selflessness and proved yourself, maybe Shawn will trust you more and eventually allow you to be in charge if he's not around," Dawn suggested.

"But I don't wanna be in charge if he's not around, I wanna be _the one_ in charge."

"Okay, I see that I'm not getting anywhere. Good-bye Chris." Dawn stood up and walked to her tent, leaving Chris by himself.

Jasmine and Chuck emerged from the camper, yawning and stretching. "Boy, what a night that was," Chuck chuckled.

"You can say that again, mate," Jasmine added.

Eva, Roger, and Chelsea came walked into the campsite, Eva carrying seven squirrels over her shoulder and Chelsea dragging a small buck.

"Hey, guys! What did y'all catch today?" Connor asked.

"Seven squirrels and this big guy," said Chelsea, referring to the buck they had killed. She laid the buck by her tent and pulled out her machete to cut off its head.

"When are we gonna search for our friends? I'm really worried about my Heather," Alejandro asked.

"We'll start searching the area after we eat breakfast," said Chuck. He then took notice of Sugar's carcass. "We should probably bury her."

"Yeah, and we should probably get rid of these zombies too," Sam chimed in.

"That's a good idea. There's a small field not too far from here. We can use that to bury Sugar and burn the zombies," said Roger. The remainder of the group agreed to start taking the dead zombies out to field while Chelsea and Eva prepared breakfast.

* * *

 _ **Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!**_

Shawn woke up to a horrible clanging noise. He jolted up from the cold basement floor, and saw Sal, Pete, Blake, Tanner, and Brian marching down the stairs, banging pans together.

"Wake up, cockheads! It's time to work!" shouted Brian. Pete and Sal began to march the prisoners towards the stairs after unlocking the cells.

It was then that Ella fully regained consciousness. "Oh my, what happened?" she asked.

"We were abducted, that's what," said Chef, dusting off the dirt from his clothes as Sal dragged him out the door. All of the other inmates were lined up into a single-file line and marched off to breakfast. After Blake marched all the men up the stairs, Pete, Tanner, Sal, and Brian stayed with Shawn and company.

"Let's go, y'all. Travis is waiting for you," said Pete as he grabbed Jo by the arm.

"Get your hands off of me, asshole!" Jo snapped.

Instead of hitting her like he did last night, Pete responded with, "Oo, you're a feisty one, ain't ya? Grab her Brian." Brian grabbed Jo and tied her hands behind her back before she could react. The men escorted the prisoners up the stairs and down the corridor, following the men. However, about halfway to the cafeteria, the three thugs led their victims down a separate hallway and soon reached a flight of stairs.

"Move it," Sal ordered Gwen, pointing his Uzi at her back. Gwen slowly ascended up the stairs and the rest followed behind her. After Gwen and Sal reached the top, Sal knocked on the door three times. A voice on the other side of the door said, "Come in!" and Sal opened the door, forcing Gwen inside. As the other survivors and their captors entered the room, they realized that the room they were brought into was the manager's office. Along the walls were pictures and awards, among others things. To the left side of the office, a couple of filing cabinets and a large book case full of books and novels of various shapes and sizes could be seen. On the right side of the room, a small bed that was already made up could be seen as well. Facing them was a large desk, with a dark brown leather swivel chair facing away from them. But probably the most prominent feature was the large window. It ran along the entire center wall, overlooking the main factory floor below, complete with all of the machines capable of mass producing weapons.

"How many did you boys get?" asked a masculine voice.

"We got five girls and three men, sir! And we already sent the other men to breakfast just now," said Pete proudly.

"Do you have them with you?" the man asked.

"Yes sir, we do!" added Brian. The swivel chair slowly spun around to reveal a man in his early to mid-30's, with fair skin, short strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes, and the only piece of clothing that the girls could see on him was a teal blue sweater.

"Oo yes, these folks are nice," said the man. "Excellent work, gentlemen."

"Who the hell are you?" Kenny asked.

"My name is Travis Parkinson and I'm the leader of this fine group," the man said. "Now gents, for your efforts, I will reward you with one girl. Tanner, which one would you like?"

Tanner thought for a moment before putting on a sinister smirk. "I'll take this one," he said, pulling Heather close to him, pinching her butt cheek. Gwen looked at her rival, and saw that Heather looked beyond frightened.

"Aw, very well. You can leave, Tanner," the man said. Tanner smirked again and dragged Heather out the door. Before she disappeared out of view, Heather mouthed, "Help me."

"Now then," the man continued, "Brian, take your pick."

"I'll take the Goth girl; she looks decent enough," Brian replied. He walked up to Gwen and began dragging her towards the door until he was stopped by Sal.

"Hold up, Brian. You told me over the walkie-talkie earlier that you had your eye on a blonde girl with a cowboy hat, and I don't see her," Sal mentioned.

"Oh yeah, I did, and I tried to grab her, but she just kept moving at such a fast pace trying to kill all the zeds we unleashed that I just gave up," the thug answered. Sal mouthed "Oh." and allowed Brian and his new slave to leave the room.

"Now Pete, since you already have a slave of your own, would you like another one?" Travis asked.

After hearing this, Pete's face lit up like a child getting a new toy for Christmas. "R-Really, sir?"

"You betcha! Besides, you're my second-in-command, I gotta treat my top man right!" Travis said, his perfect smile refusing to leave his face.

"W-Wow, thanks sir! I think I'll take this tomboy right here." He attempted to grab Jo, but Jo swiftly punched Pete in the face, and pulled out her kitchen knife she still had from the resort from the back of her sweatpants.

After pinning the bald man to the ground, she pressed the knife against his throat and said, "Try to touch me again, buster, and see what happens," she threatened. However, Sal grabbed Jo off of his comrade and threw her to the ground, making sure to grab her knife before she did. He cocked his Uzi and was about to shoot her, when Travis intervened.

"Hold your fire!" He stood up from his seat and walked over to the group. Everyone could now see that he was wearing light grey dress pants and brown Cole Haan dress shoes. "Hoist her up." Pete hoisted Jo off the ground, twisting her arm behind her back.

"What's your name, ma'am?" asked Travis.

"Jo," she answered.

"Well, Jo, you're a pretty tough girl. And personally, I don't like my men having to deal with tough girls when it comes to sex. So, instead, I'm gonna put you to work in the field with the men. How does that sound?" Travis offered.

Jo was taken aback by this. For an instant, she thought that she would be forced into the repulsive sex slavery anyway just like Gwen and Heather. "Uh, okay. Thanks?" Jo said with confusion.

Travis then turned to Scarlett, inspecting her appearance for minute or two. "Hm…you look smart. Do you enjoy science?"

"Excuse me?" Scarlett asked.

"Oh, forgive me, but you look like someone who may be like a scientist or something. We have a scientist here, and he sure could use some help with his research. Would you like to be his assistant, or as I call it, scientific sidekick?" The last remark made the remaining thugs in the room let out a few chuckles. However, the humorous statement made Scarlett's eye twitch. Ever since Max labeled her his "sidekick" back during season six, she has grown to despise the very word or any word similar to it. She felt like lashing out at her captor, but she felt that this was not suitable due to her and her companions' predicament.

Instead, she said, "Yes, I would like that."

Travis silently nodded, before looking at Shawn, Kenny, and Chef. "Which one of you fellas is the leader?" Chef and Kenny both pointed at Shawn between them. "What's your name, kid?"

"Shawn," the prepper responded.

"Very well. Pete, take Scarlett to Cooper's office, and Sal, take the two black men and Jo to breakfast. I want to talk with Shawn," Travis ordered.

"But sir, what about Snow White over here?" asked Sal, pointing at Ella.

"Take her back to breakfast. I'll deal with her after I'm done with Shawn." The two men took everyone else out of the office and left Shawn where he stood. Travis looked at the teenager. "Let's talk."

* * *

"Hey Ezekiel, help me move this zombie!"

Ezekiel nearly wet himself when he heard his name. He turned and saw that Eva was trying to lift a really obese female zombie. "Wha? Oh, yeah. Sure, eh," Ezekiel said. He made sure that his bite mark was well hidden before walking over.

"Grab its legs," Eva said. Ezekiel obliged and helped carry it to the pickup truck. Strangely, no one had taken notice that the camper, armored truck, and pickup had flats thanks to Tanner. Once the two placed the dead zombie on the bed of the pickup, Eva looked at Ezekiel and saw that his right sleeve was bloody.

"Don't you just hate it when roamer blood gets on you?" she asked.

"Uh yeah! It's a real bitch," Ezekiel lied.

"Wait a minute. That blood looks a bit dry; you couldn't have got it from one today. Did you get bit?" Eva asked.

"No,no. It's nothing," Ezekiel said, now sweating like crazy.

"You got bit didn't you?" Eva asked again.

Ezekiel looked around to make sure that no one else was around. "Please don't tell the others," was all he could say before Eva stormed off.

"Everyone! Everyone, Zeke's been bit!" The others stopped eating their venison and looked at the Iron Lady. Eva then dragged Zeke over to the others and lifted up his sleeve, revealing his bite wound. From the looks of it, it had stopped bleeding, but it now looked extremely infected and red with irritation. "See?" Eva interjected.

No one could think of anything to say. However, a certain host stood up and started to make his way towards the kid, a large machete in hand.

 **Meowth's Toon Dragon, I hope that you're happy with the way that I made your characters turn out so far!**

 **As for the rest of you guys, I hope that my story keeps growing the way it is. Also, I am in the process of creating a new romance fic involving Sammy and Mike that should be released pretty soon.**

 **Alive: Chris, Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Scarlett, Topher, Sky, Ella, Beardo, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, Cameron, B, Sam, Dakota, Scott, Jo, Brick, Alejandro, Sierra, Heather, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Gwen, Trent, Noah, LeShawna, DJ, Tyler, Harold, Eva, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Kenny, Nicole, Miguel, Vince, Joshua, Miles, Ryan, Travis, Pete, Brian, Tanner, Nathan, Sal, Blake**

 **Dead: Staci, Justin, Max, Dave, Owen, Anne Maria, Geoff, Beth, Katie, Sadie, Leonard, Lindsay, Sugar**

 **Bitten: Ezekiel**


	10. Ebola

**Sorry for the month-long wait.**

 **Previously, on** **Surviving the Dead:** **Shawn and the other captives were brought to an abandoned factory, where they were told by fellow prisoners Joshua, Miles, and Ryan that they were to be put to work while the girls would be divided up amongst the thugs as sex slaves. After being brought to their leader, Travis, Gwen and Heather are taken away to be raped while Jo, Scarlett, and (for the time being) Ella are spared. Back at their camp, Eva discovers that Ezekiel has been bit and shows his wound to everyone. Everyone seems shocked, and a certain host wants to do something drastic….**

Chris, machete in hand, made his way over towards Eva and Ezekiel with a determined look on his face. He raised his machete and was about to swing when he heard the sound of a pistol being cocked.

"Sit your ass down or we'll put you down," Chris heard a voice say from behind. He turned to see Bridgette aiming her Colt 1911 at him, and soon Brick and Connor aimed their pistols as well.

"Chris, put the machete down!" Brick ordered.

"Why are you guys stopping me? He's infected; we have to dispatch him!" Chris reasoned.

"We can settle this man, just put the weapon down," said Chuck, who had his hand on his holster. Ignoring this, Chris went back at him, but Chuck tackled him to the ground, handcuffing his hands behind his back.

"I warned you," Chuck said, pulling Chris up and escorting him away.

With that, Bridgette put the safety back on her 1911 and inserted it back into her holster before walking over to Ezekiel. "You got bit last night, didn't you? When I saved you?" she asked.

The prairie boy nodded shamefully. "Yeah, right before you ran over," said Ezekiel.

"You see? Can't we just put him down already?" Chris pleaded.

"I don't think that's necessary, Chris. We'll just do what Chuck did to me and amputate him," Mike piped up, holding up and pointing to his handless left arm.

"Wait a minute. If he was bit last night, isn't it too late to do anything?" asked Miguel. All the other members of the group debated amongst themselves while Bridgette inspected Ezekiel's bite.

"It does look very infected. Does anyone have the time?" The surfer asked.

Harold checked his watch. "It's 7:05 A.M. If I recall, we were attacked at around 10 or so last night."

"That's a long time in my book. What should we do?" asked Connor.

Jasmine sighed. "I don't think there's anything we CAN do."

"Well, if Zeke's already doomed, should we let him die?" asked Nicole. Everyone turned their attention back to Ezekiel.

The teen looked around at everyone, and said, "If it's too late…..I guess I'll just go through with it. How long do I have, eh?"

Chuck walked over to Zeke. "Well, it depends. I've seen quite a few people go through this thing, and they all died at different time periods. One woman died after a few hours, and came back about ten minutes later. Another man got bit and died the next day, reanimating about 3 hours later. One of us should keep an eye on him until he turns, and then he needs to be put down afterwards," said the cop.

"I'll volunteer!" Bridgette offered.

"Okay, with that taken care of, we need to try to find our friends before sundown," said Cameron.

"Agreed. Should we split up into groups?" asked Topher.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Some of us should stay and guard the camp while we're away," added Sammy.

"I'll stay!" Courtney piped up.

"Dido!" said Scott.

Jasmine nodded. "Okay, whoever wants to go, divide amongst yourselves and let's head out!"

* * *

"Have a seat Shawn, let's talk," Travis offered. Shawn walked over to Travis's desk and pulled up a small wooden chair while Travis returned to his swivel chair.

"What is there to talk about?" asked Shawn asked, confused.

"Oh, there's plenty to talk about. I want to know all about you. Where are you and your people from?" Travis asked. Shawn was not expecting this at all; he never thought the leader of such an evil group could be so friendly and open. However, this did not stop him from keeping his guard up.

"Uh…I'm originally from Toronto, but my group and I came from the West. We were trying to get back to Toronto until your boys came last night and kidnapped a few of us," explained Shawn.

Travis chuckled. "Yeah, they tend to do that," he said before letting out another disturbing chuckle. "But we have a good reason to."

"What would that be?""

"Simple: we need people to help us survive. I believe in a Darwinist system, therefore people like me and my men are the ones that survive, while the women and other men cater to our every need. The ones that work outside everyday are the ones that provide us with food. The women that are kept in here are the ones that pleasure us sexually. We need people, Shawn, and it looks to me as though you don't have much a choice," Travis preached. He rose up from his seat and walked over to the large window, his hands folded behind his back.

"Did it ever occur to you that you can just make the men work but give them women as incentives?" asked Shawn.

"I have, but that's not good enough to get a personal slave. Going out there and risking their lives to bring more people back is worth so much more. Besides, who is there to tell us what's right and what's wrong, am I right? Surely you've been out there long enough to realize this," Travis stated. "Now, go off to breakfast. Just go down the stairs and walk until you find the cafeteria." Shawn got up from his seat and made his way towards the door. He turned his head to look at Travis (his back still turned) one last time before exiting the room.

He wandered the labyrinth-like hallways for a good five minutes before arriving at the cafeteria. When he entered, he saw that all the other men were already having their breakfast, which consisted of only a Pop-Tart and a small juice box. He walked up to Nathan, who was handing out the stuff, and took a juice box and Hot Fudge Sundae Pop-Tart before sitting at Chef's table.

"So Joshua, how long do we work?" Shawn asked.

"We typically work from now 'til about 7:00 P.M., but we don't get any lunch. That's only for Travis's men," the shaggy teen replied. "We don't eat until like 9:00, when everyone is nice and starving."

"Aw man, that's gonna be a problem. I've got quite the appetite," said Kenny, looking at his stomach.

Shawn took a bite out of his Pop-Tart. "How long we got to eat?" Immediately after the words left his mouth, Pete began ringing a bell, signaling the end of breakfast.

"That would be now," said Miles. He and his brother stood up and followed the other men to the door that led outside, with Shawn and the others following behind.

* * *

Back at Shawn's campsite, Scott, Courtney, Harold, Amy, Miguel, Sky, and Eva had decided to stay behind to guard the camp while Bridgette tended to Ezekiel in the camper. The others were getting ready to head out to search for the Shawn and the others. Ezekiel was currently lying in bed, bare-chested and his toque was resting on the small wooden chair in the room. He was sweating like crazy; in fact, he sweated so much that the pillow was stained with it.

"Here, take this. It should help ease some of the pain," Bridgette said as she offered Ezekiel a teaspoon of medicine.

After accepting the medicine, Ezekiel replied with, "Thanks, eh. Did Chuck say anything about symptoms?"

Bridgette remained silent for a moment. "He said that the only symptoms included excessive sweating, nausea, and a lethal fever," she said.

Ezekiel coughed, but soon coughed so hard Bridgette thought he was going to throw up, so she handed him a small plastic bucket. Zeke threw up into the bucket while Bridgette looked away.

Ezekiel set the bucket to his side. "Oh God….my head hurts. I'm so hot I feel like I'm being cooked alive," he complained. Bridgette took off Geoff's cowboy hat and began to fan the homeschooled boy.

"*sigh* Thanks, Bridge," he thanked.

Before she could answer, Bridgette heard the door to the camper open and turned her head to see Sky. "Bridgette, you need to see this," she said. Bridgette gave Ezekiel Geoff's cowboy hat so he could fan himself and she followed Sky outside. The two girls saw that everyone else was gathered around the pickup.

"What's going on?" Bridgette asked.

"Some of the tires are flat," said Connor.

"How's this possible? They were fine last night," DJ stated. Brick squatted down to get a better look at one of the pickup's tires. He saw that the tire had a small, perfect hole exiting it.

"Huh, that's strange," he said to himself.

"What is it, Brick?" asked Zoey.

"This tire has a hole in it, almost as if someone had shot it," Brick explained.

"How's that possible? Could someone have shot it by accident during the chaos?" Sammy asked.

"It's possible, but that's not important right now. What's important is trying to find our friends," said Dawn.

"Dawn's right. The more time we spend here, the less time we have to search. Let's shove off!" Jasmine declared.

* * *

Shawn and the others exited the dark building and walked into the warm Canadian sun. With only another thug standing guard at the door with an M16A1, everyone walked off to the large field not too far from the factory. The field was about a five minute walk from the factory, so Shawn used the opportunity to talk to Joshua some more.

"What do you guys grow here?" he asked.

"We grow mainly vegetables, and we have some cows and pigs here as well. We grow mainly potatoes, peas, and tomatoes," Joshua answered.

"Enough chit-chat! Get to work, _putos_!" A Hispanic thug said, pointing his Remington 870 shotgun at them. The men went to their work spots and began to tend to the vegetables. Shawn went beside Joshua to see what he would be doing, but another thug, this one Caucasian, grabbed him by the arm.

"Nuh-uh, not you, pretty boy. Come with me," he ordered. He dragged Shawn away from the others to a small corral of pigs with a small shed. "You'll be tending to the porkers over here. Also, you will clean the shed when need be, all clear?" He let Shawn go and went off to join the other guard. Shawn looked inside the shed and saw that it was stained with dirt and poop. Shawn groaned and picked up the bucket and sponge that was left for him to clean.

Back in the factory, Tanner threw Heather into his small office-turned living quarters. Heather sat up and saw that Tanner had withdrawn his Colt Detective Special revolver and cocked the hammer. "All right, listen you Asian slut. You do as I say, and I won't punish you. Understand?" he said. Heather remained silent, but nodded her head in comprehension. Out of nowhere, Tanner slapped her across the face. "I expect a verbal response, bitch! Now, I'm gonna ask you again, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" he shouted.

"Y-Yes sir," Heather said meekly, rubbing her cheek.

Tanner removed his Aviator sunglasses, revealing lime green eyes behind them, and placed them inside his leather jacket. Heather looked around the room and saw a small cot behind her, and a small dog cage on the opposite side of the room, barely noticeable behind the open door. But what was the most shocking was what was in the other corner next to the door. It was a small cell (only big enough to house one person if they were to stand up), and a female zombie could be seen moaning loudly and sticking her pale arms through the bars. This zombie must have reanimated recently, because she did not appear as rotten.

"Who…Who's that?" Heather pointed. Tanner turned his attention to the caged zombie.

"Oh, that's my former slave, Vivian. She was a real pain, I tell ya. She wouldn't give me the amount of sexual favors that I wanted, so I slit her throat," the thug answered. Heather looked again and could definitely see that the zombie's clothes were stained with blood, as well as a large slash that ran across her throat.

"But enough of that. Time to get down to business," said Tanner. "Ditch the crop top."

* * *

 **THIS NEXT PART MAYBE UNNERVING TO SOME READERS. If YOU WISH TO SKIP THIS PART, FEEL FREE AND SCROLL DOWN UNTIL YOU SEE BOLD AGAIN.**

* * *

Heather slowly grabbed the bottom of her top and pulled it over her head and placed it beside her.

"Oh, so you're one of them girls who like to go bra-less? I like that," he snickered, licking his lips as he gazed at Heather's bare C-cup breasts.

"Now the shoes." The girl obeyed and removed her wedges, leaving her barefoot. "Now…take off them short-shorts," Tanner continued. Heather was unsure to do this, as she knew what was going to happen once she was fully naked. But nonetheless, she unbuckled her pants, raised legs high in the air and removed her pants (which removed her pink panties with them). Now Heather was sitting on the ground, completely nude.

Tanner's smile grew even larger. He placed his revolver on his night stand and unzipped his pants, pulling out his penis. "All right, let's get this show on the road!" He shoved Heather's mouth onto his shaft and forcefully began to thrust inside her. Heather felt like she was going to throw up because Tanner's penis nearly hit her uvula a couple of times.

"Aw yeeeaaah…Suck it, bitch," Tanner moaned. Heather had no choice but to just let it happen, even though she hoped to God that Tanner would stop soon. After forcefully blowing him for about three minutes, Heather felt something warm and sticky shoot into her mouth and down her throat.

' _Oh Jesus, did he just cum? Fucking gross!'_ she thought, trying her best not to puke.

"That's right, swallow it ALL," Tanner ordered. He pulled out of Heather's mouth, giving the self-centered teenage girl a moment to catch her breath and cough a little. "If you thought that THAT was nasty, that was only the beginning, darling. Put your hands behind your back." Heather, with tears beginning to form in her scared eyes, sniffled and put her hands behind her back. Tanner then tied her hands with duct tape and forced her onto the cot, which smelt of sweat and bourbon.

"Raise your ass!" Tanner screamed. Heather raised her rear end, letting Tanner get a good view of her anus and the bottom of her vagina. "Oh yeah, I'm gonna pop your cherry for sure!" He stroked his cock just a bit as he climbed onto the bed and without warning, thrust his entire shaft into Heather's ass.

"AAAAWWWWW!" Heather screamed with pain.

"Oh come on, it ain't that bad. You may learn to love it," Tanner said as he thrusted in and out of Heather's asshole.

* * *

 **OKAY ITS OVER**

* * *

As Tanner picked up speed, Heather began to wonder, _'Oh God, is this my punishment for being such a bitch?'_ She soon thought of Gwen, wondering if her rival was undergoing the same thing. Oh please, it was certain she was. Somewhere in her soul, Heather felt a twinge of pity. The rape continued to commence, as the zombified Vivian moaned and watch from her cell.

Pete led Scarlett down a hallway until they stopped at a seemingly normal office door. Pete knocked on it a few times.

"Yes?" a voice answered on the other side.

"Open up, Cooper!" Pete said loudly. The door unlocked and swung open to reveal a man with a bald head but a large black beard that reached his chest and dark eyes. He appeared to be in his late 40s, and he wore a white lab coat that was covered in blood, which was unbuttoned, revealing a light green button down shirt, black dress pants, and grey tennis shoes.

"I have someone who is going to be your new assistant. Introduce yourself, kid," Pete said.

Scarlett offered a handshake. "Hello, I am Scarlett," she introduced herself.

The man known as Cooper shook her hand softly. "Dr. James T. Cooper, but most people call me by my last name," said Cooper. By that point, Pete had left the two alone and went on his way. "Come in, I need your help with something."

Scarlett shut the door behind her and began to inspect the room as her new partner returned to writing something down on a clipboard. This office was rather big, and had been converted into a small laboratory. There was a white board on the wall with various notes and a large drawing of a brain on it, a rack of test tubes full of blood on the counter, and the most prominent feature, a bare-chested zombie lay strapped down on a metal table, its lower abdomen sliced open, exposing it's innards.

"Scarlett, put on this lab coat," Cooper offered. Scarlett took the folded lab coat from Cooper and slid it onto her body.

"So, how long have you been here?" she asked while she buttoned up her lab coat.

"I was one of the first people ever brought to this place," Cooper said. "They wanted to put me to work, but when I told them that I was a scientist, Travis told me to conduct research on these things." He poked the restrained zombie with a scalpel.

"What kind of research do you conduct? Are you trying to figure out the cause of reanimation?" Scarlett asked.

"No, my dear," the scientist told Scarlett.

"You mean you don't know what caused the outbreak?" Scarlett asked, shocked and confused.

"I worked at a private research facility in northern-western Ontario. I and a small team of researchers were tasked with trying to decipher what causes the dead to reanimate, and we discovered that the virus that causes the dead to return to life is really an evolved pathogen," Cooper explained. At this point, Scarlett was keen on finding out every single detail that Cooper could provide.

"From what?" she asked him.

"Ebola, that's what. You know the reports earlier last year that showed deceased victims of the Ebola virus rising from the dead? Well….it wasn't a hoax. It was all too real." Cooper took a sip of water. "After a while, the virus had evolved to where it wasn't only transferred through bodily fluids, but through the air as well. I'm sorry to say this, Scarlett, but if the brain is not destroyed, you will become that." Cooper pointed to the zombie on the table, trying to reach up with its head and bite him but to no avail.

"Well, what do you do then?"

"My job is to find some way to cease or reverse the reanimation process," the scientist spoke. "But so far, all my attempts have failed." Cooper but a sample of zombie blood under a microscope, while Scarlett just stood there.

"So…is there anything I can do?" Scarlett asked after a silence.

Cooper looked up from his microscope and turned to her. "Um…actually there is something you can do. There are a few pits by the crop field which we use to capture dead ones. Take this harness and catch me a new one." Cooper handed Scarlett a large grappling harness that was resting in the corner of the room. The brainiac took the harness and left the room with a feeling of nervousness.

* * *

Nicole snuck up behind a zombie and stabbed it in the head with her knife, with Rodney following close behind. "I think I'm picking up some tracks," she said. "Hopefully, if they're close by, we can try to find them by sundown." Rodney wasn't paying attention; he was too busy staring romantically at Nicole to notice to the rest of the world around him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, hopefully," said Rodney. "Listen, Nicole. I have something I want to confess."

Nicole sheathed her knife and flipped her braided ponytail back. "What is it?" she asked.

Rodney got a little closer to her, looking into her green eyes. "I like you. In fact, I think I love you," Rodney said. Nicole looked at her friend, and then to the ground, a sad expression spreading across her face.

"Rodney…..I think you're a pretty cool guy. In fact, I don't think I've met a man as big and strong as you!" she said. "But, I hate to tell you this but….I'm a lesbian."

Rodney's mind seemed to shut down. "Wait, what?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm gay," Nicole repeated.

"But, that can't be right. I thought it wasn't possible for girls to be gay!" Rodney said.

Nicole shrugged. "Well, that's just the way I am, but don't pout. I'm sure that there's someone out there for you." She reached up and gave Rodney a peck on the cheek, making him blush like crazy and fall back onto the forest floor. Nicole rolled her eyes, but in a good way.

"Men," she said.

Brick, Jasmine, and Connor trekked through another part of the forest, guns drawn. "So do you think someone could have snuck up last night and kidnapped them?" asked Connor.

"Well, it's not completely out of the question," said Brick.

"Shh!" The two men heard Jasmine say.

"What is it?" Connor asked.

"I hear something," said the Aussie. She smelled the air. "I smell something burning. It's coming from that way! Come on!" Jasmine ran off deeper into the woods, Connor and Brick following close behind. The three suddenly came to a stop, and hid behind some bushes. When they glanced over, they saw a small campfire. A man in his early 30's sat in front of the fire, roasting a small piece of meat on a stick. He had fair skin, short blonde hair, and brown eyes. His apparel consisted of a short sleeved pale blue button down shirt with grey sleeves and breast pocket. The shirt was open, revealing a white T-shirt with a blue American Eagle logo on the chest, as well as blue jeans and grey Converse sneakers.

Connor tried to move closer to get a better view, but stepped on a twig, and the man turned to see them.

The man let out a small yelp of surprise and pulled out a Smith and Wesson M&P pistol with a tanned grip. "Who-Who are y-you?" the man asked.

"Just relax, man. We don't mean any harm," said Brick. Brick motioned for the other two to come out with him from the bushes, and they all stood in front of the man, still holding their handguns, with their hands up.

"P-Prove it," the man stuttered. Brick, Jasmine, and Connor all put their guns on the ground.

"See? It's all good," Connor reassured. "What's your name?"

"G-Gareth," the man said. "Wh-Who are you?"

"I'm Connor. This is Brick and Jasmine," Connor continued.

After a small silence, Jasmine said, "You get put that down, mate. We're good." Gareth slowly lowered his handgun and put it back in his holster. "Are you alone?" Jasmine asked.

Gareth looked somewhat alarmed. "Wh-Who n-needs to know?" he asked.

"We're just asking if you're alone, dude. Chill," Connor said.

Gareth looked at the three before saying, "Y-Yes. I'm alone. Do you guys have a camp?"

The trio looked at one another. "Yes. We have a camp nearby," said Brick.

"S-So are y-y-you guys looking f-for food?" Gareth asked.

"No, not exactly," said Jasmine. "We're trying to find our friends who disappeared during the night."

Gareth nodded his head. "Oh, I see."

"Do you wanna join us?" Jasmine asked the man.

"Th-Thanks, but n-no thanks. I'm…..j-just fine," said Gareth.

Jasmine and the others picked up their guns. "Okay….Well, good luck to ya!" Jasmine waved as she, Connor, and Brick left. Gareth returned a small wave and sat back down to finish roasting his meal.

"Well, that was unexpected. I thought that someone with almost no supplies would want to join us," said Brick.

"Well, even if he did, that wouldn't matter. Besides we have to find Shawn and the others," said Jasmine. "Plus, isn't it strange how eight of our people vanished overnight, and our tires are shot?"

"Wait! D-Did you say th-that your tires were sh-shot?" They heard Gareth call out. They turned around and saw Gareth walking over to them.

"Uh…yeah. Our leader and a few others vanished last night, and it appears that someone had shot the tires to a few of our vehicles," said Brick.

Gareth stared at them, putting together everything that he had just heard.

"I th-think I know wh-where they went."

 **So the origins of the virus have been revealed, and oh my God, poor Heather! What I'm gonna start doing too, is dividing up who's alive and dead based on the groups that they are a part of. From now on, if the name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. And if they're in normal font, they're unknown.**

 **Shawn's group:**

 **Chris, Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Topher, Ella, Beardo, Scarlett, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, B, Cameron, Dakota, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Ezekiel, Alejandro, Sierra, DJ, Tyler, Heather, Trent, Gwen, Eva, LeShawna, Noah, Cody, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Kenny, Nicole, Vince, Miguel, Gareth,** _Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's group:**

 **Travis, Pete, Brian, Sal, Tanner, Nathan, Blake, Cooper, Joshua, Miles, Ryan, Stephanie (yet to be seen)**


	11. The End of Suffering

**Writer's block and school suck. I was gonna make this two separate chapters, but I just wanted to get this done already.**

 **Previously on Surviving the Dead: Chris is talked out of killing an infected Ezekiel, and Ezekiel decides to go through with the infection. At Travis's compound, the lone scientist named Cooper reveals to Scarlett that the outbreak was caused by an evolved case of airborne Ebola. So now anyone who dies without the brain being destroyed or if they are bitten by the infected, they will come back as one of the undead. Also, Heather was brutally raped by Tanner (one of the few times we will actually feel bad for her). Back with Shawn's group, Nicole reveals to Rodney that she's gay, and Jasmine, Brick, and Connor encounter a man who claims to know where their friends are…**

Jasmine and the two men turned to face Gareth.

"What did you say?" asked Brick.

"I said th-that I think I know wh-where they are," Gareth stuttered.

Jasmine walked closer to Gareth. "Where are they?" she said.

Gareth stared up at her, silently. "Th-They were c-captured."

"Captured? You mean they were taken?" Jasmine asked.

"Y-Yes. They w-were most likely t-taken by T-Travis's p-people," he said.

"Who the hell is Travis?" Connor asked.

"Travis i-is the l-leader of a group of th-thugs who g-go out and t-take people b-back to their f-f-factory. Th-They use the men t-to w-work, and the g-girls are used to p-perform s-sexual act on the thugs," Gareth revealed, when Cody, Sammy, Roger, and Tyler walked up behind Gareth.

"Who's this chap?" Roger pointed at Gareth.

"This is Gareth," Connor answered. "He says that he knows what happened to our friends."

"He does? Well then, let's head back to camp to tell the others," said Cody.

"Fine, but they're not gonna like what they hear," said Connor.

* * *

Scarlett walked through the overgrown grass towards one of the roamer pits that Cooper had mentioned. When she reached the pit, she reached the large harness Cooper had given her and reached down into the pit, trying to snag one of the three zombies that had fallen in. After a few unsuccessful tries, she was able to snag a male zombie with its left arm missing.

"Come on, come," she said to herself as she attempted to hoist the zombie up out of the pit. When she realized she wasn't getting anywhere, she looked over and saw Shawn tending to the pigs. "Hey Shawn Could you give me a hand?" she called out. Shawn hopped over the small wooden fence and walked over to Scarlett.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Jesus, you look awful," Scarlett commented. She was referring to Shawn's appearance, because he was covered in mud.

"Yeah, those porkers sure love to get all over ya," Shawn said. "So anyway, whadaya need help with?"

"I'm trying to get this bastard out of this pit, but I'm having some trouble," she explained. "Could you help me out?"

Shawn walked behind Scarlett and grabbed the back of the harness. "On three: One, two, three!" The two teens lifted the struggling zombie out of the pit and flung it on the ground before Scarlett wrapped the harness around the zombie's neck.

"Thanks," Scarlett thanked.

"No problem. But, why do you need one of them?" Shawn asked.

"Cooper, the scientist here, wants me to bring him one so he can conduct some experiments. Oh, and by the way, he knows what caused the outbreak," the braniac replied.

The last statement caught Shawn's attention. "He does? What happened?"

"Apparently, Ebola had evolved and now every living human has the virus," she said.

"But wait, if we all have Ebola, why aren't we dead?" Shawn perked.

"Cooper said that even though every person has the virus inside them, via the air, the virus is not activated unless a person is bitten by a zombie, or if they die and the brain isn't destroyed. It reactivates the brain stem and gets you up and walking around after you're dead," Scarlett continued.

Shawn couldn't believe it. "Wow, when Ebola started going around, I told my dad that Ebola may bring zombies to life, but he laughed at me every time I brought it up! Ha, man," he said.

"Well, anyway, I have to get back. But listen," Scarlett gestured for Shawn come closer. She cupped her hand over her mouth and whispered, "Do you have a plan of escape yet?"

Shawn sighed. "Not yet. I'm gonna talk with Chef and the others later today and maybe even tonight. I'm pretty sure since you're not a slave, you'll be sleeping in the same cell as us tonight?"

"I'm not sure, but it's possible. I'll see ya around," Scarlett said as she walked off with her zombie, who was tirelessly attempting to grab her. As he watched her walk back towards the factory, Shawn breathed a sigh of uncertainty.

"I just hope we all make back," he said and began to make his way back to the pigsty.

Travis was sitting at his desk, reading a copy of _The Well of Loneliness,_ when he decided that he wasn't in the mood for anymore reading. He marked his place with a bookmark, and pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Yo Pete!" he said into the device, "I think I'm ready for that princess girl from earlier. Bring her in for me, would ya?"

A few minutes had passed, and soon Travis heard the familiar knocking on his office door. Pete entered the room, dragging Ella by the arm. "I got her, boss!"

"Very good, that'll be all Pete," Travis dismissed. Pete nodded and exited the room, locking the door behind him.

"Y-You wanted to see me, sir?" Ella asked.

Travis nodded, smiling. "Yes, my dear. Have a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair opposite him. Ella hesitantly strolled over to the chair and sat down.

"Do you like it here?" Travis asked.

Ella narrowed her eyes. "I guess. I noticed that we didn't get much to eat for breakfast," she said.

The well-dressed man nodded. "Hm, yes. Our workers work better on light stomachs. If we give them too much, they don't do their jobs as well as we'd like them to," he said, his eyes locked with Ella's. "I want you to understand something: this is how the world was always meant to be. I believe that the dead rising is nature's way of restoring the world back to its natural state." Travis didn't say anything else after that, and for a while the room was completely silent.

Ella finally spoke back: "Oh, I see…." Her voice trailed off.

Travis's smile soon faded from his face. "And one thing I love about the new world is that men are on top again…..Now take off your clothes."

"W-What?" she asked nervously.

"You heard me," Travis said sternly. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a Smith and Wesson M&P before chambering a round and aiming the pistol at Ella. "And if I think you're holding back, you and I are gonna have a serious fucking issue here."

Ella, not wanting to take a bullet to the dome, slowly began stripping in front of Travis, small tears beginning to form in her innocent eyes. Travis stood up (still aiming his pistol) and pushed Ella onto his cot after she was down to her white bra and panties. Travis unbuckled his pants with one hand and, well, you know what happens.

* * *

"And so th-that's p-pretty much it," Gareth finished telling everybody. The survivors couldn't believe what this man had just said to them.

"Wait, let me get this straight. This guy is saying that our friends were kidnapped by a group of thugs, taken to a factory in the middle of nowhere, and now they're being worked/raped right now as we speak?" DJ said, trying to put everything together.

"That's right," said Brick.

"And he knows this how, again?" asked Noah.

"I e-escaped from their c-c-compound a-about a day ago. One of the p-prisoners, Joshua, was a-able to help m-me escape when the guards w-weren't looking," Gareth replied.

"But the real question is, do you know where it's at from here?" asked Courtney.

"N-Not far, I think," said the man. "If I r-remember correctly, it's about…. a day's walk from here, but s-since you guys have c-cars, we can g-get there faster."

"Yeah, only one problem though. A good number of our tires have been shot," said Scott, who was on his knees, pointing to one of the wheels to the camper.

"Y-Yeah. About that, Travis orders his men t-to slash/sh-shoot the t-tires to any v-vehicles that a group possesses, s-so that they c-can't be followed. But, if we l-l-leave now, we can p-probably make it there by late in the n-night or in th-the e-early morning," said Gareth.

"How tight is the security?" asked Eva.

"According to Gareth, it's pretty secure," said Jasmine. "However, even though they've got guards patrolling the perimeter, not a lot of those bastards are patrolling."

Lightning cocked his sawed-off shotgun. "Well, what are we sha-waiting for? Why don't just go in and shoot up them motherfuckers?"

"Because we lack the firepower, dumbass!" said LeShawna.

Tyler got an idea. "Wait, if he's been there, he must know where the weapons are kept, right?" she asked.

Gareth looked around nervously. "W-Well…I don't know for sure w-where in the f-factory the weapons are k-kept, but I do know that T-Travis and his men have a bunch of a-a-automatics and shotguns locked up, maybe some handg-guns too. But ag-gain, p-probably not a whole lot."

This idea sparked some hope in the members of the group. "Well, if that's for real, a few of us should go in, sneak out some guns, shoot up them fuckers, and high-tail it outta there!" said Vince, chambering a round in his M14.

"That seems a little risky. Can't we try to negotiate with them?" asked Sam.

"Have you not been listening? They clearly have more firepower than us, and given what our new group member has told us, this Travis and his goons seem like pretty bad dudes. We may have to go with what Vince said," Chelsea put her hand on Sam's shoulder.

"I agree. I want my Heather back, and I will castrate every _puto_ that raped her," Alejandro said, pulling out his machete.

"Yeah, and God knows what they're doing to Gwen," said a concerned Trent, accompanied by Cody nodding.

"You know, Izzy has a way of getting her companions out," Izzy said. "Although, it's a bit drastic to most of you. While Izzy was out searching, she found a bunch of zeds all bunched together in the woods exactly two kilometers away from here. We can use them as a distraction, while Gareth and a few of you chickens head inside to get everybody out."

Everyone stared at Izzy. Even though Izzy wasn't the best person to look for smart ideas due to her psychotic nature, this one seemed rather tempting. "How far is it again?" asked Connor.

"Precisely two kilometers!" Izzy stated again.

"What do you think we should do, Jasmine?" Sammy asked.

Her tall friend thought and thought, until coming to a conclusion. "How big is the crowd of zombies, Izzy?"

"HUGE!" she shouted with her arms stretched out to emphasize.

"Hm…..Okay, here's what's gonna happen. Izzy, Vince, Rodney, Nicole, and Roger will go back to retrieve the zombies," she said. "I will drive the SUV towards the factory and we'll use that to lure the zombies. Once we get there, me, Brick, Gareth, Alejandro, and Courtney will infiltrate the compound and look for Shawn and the weapons cache. With the guards occupied, we should be able to slip out of there with ease. All in?"

"I'm in," said Connor.

"Same," said Sky, raising her Beretta.

"Count us in," said Amy as she held Sammy in a chokehold.

"Let's go sha-kick some ass!" exclaimed Lightning.

"Whatdaya say, Chris?" said Zoey.

Chris shrugged. "Meh, I guess," he said unenthusiastically.

"All right, let's go!" Jasmine said. Soon all the survivors got their stuff together to depart. Nicole checked the ammo in her P99 pistol before walking up to Izzy.

"You got this?" Nicole asked.

"Relax, blondie. Where there's an Izzy, there's a way!" she shouted proudly. "Let's go, bitches!" Izzy ran off into the woods, leaving the others behind.

"Is sh-she always l-like that?" Gareth asked Harold.

"You have NO idea, dude," the geek sighed.

* * *

Shawn finished cleaning the pigpen as he was instructed. He knew that the guards would make him do it again in the future, as the little porkers would just make it dirty again in less than a day. He walked over to the Hispanic guard who was watching the other men tend to the crops.

"All right, I'm done. What should I do now?" Shawn asked.

"Get down and get croppin'!" said the guard, pointing to the ground. Shawn sighed and go down on his hands and knees.

He leaned over and whispered to Chef, "I'm trying to put together a plan to bust out of here. Have any ideas?"

"Not a thing," the black cook replied. "I thought we could try overthrowing the two guards here, but the sound of the commotion may make Pete and the others come out here."

"Oh yeah, that's true," Shawn said, disappointed. He stood up with a few potatoes in his hands and walked over to the group wheelbarrow. He dropped the vegetables in, and saw the other guard standing over Miles.

"No, no, no! You're going to slow!" the guard shouted and slapped Miles on the back of the head.

"Hey! You can't treat him like that!" Shawn shouted. The guard looked up and noticed Shawn standing there.

"The fuck did you just say to me?" He cocked his M16 and quickly made his way over to the teenager. "Say that again," said the thug with venom in his voice.

"I said you can't treat him like that. He's just a kid," he repeated.

The man just stared into Shawn's eyes for what seemed like eternity until he whipped Shawn across the face with the buttstock of his rifle, sending Shawn to the ground. The muscular man delivered another blow, this time to his stomach. Joshua ran up behind the guard and jumped on his back, causing him to drop his M16.

The guard shouted "Get off me, kid!" but Joshua wouldn't let go. He was able to bring the man to the ground and began punching him repeatedly until the Hispanic guard fired his shotgun into the air. As expected, Joshua stopped punching and turned to look where the gunshot came from, giving the other guard the opportunity to sucker punch Joshua across the jaw.

The Hispanic guard reached for his walkie-talkie. "Pete, you and the boys need to get out here. We got some fellas who think they're top notch," he muttered.

Within minutes, Pete came riding out on his motorcycle towards the group, with Brian following close behind on his own motorcycle. "What's up?" Pete asked.

"Take these two to Travis," said the first guard, blood dripping from his mouth. He pushed Shawn and Joshua forward with his M16.

"All righty, let's go you two," said Pete. Shawn hopped on the back of Pete's motorcycle and Joshua hopped on the back of Brian's and they sped off back towards the factory. After parking, Pete and Brian dragged the two teens through the hallways until they reached the stairway to Travis's office.

"Move it," Brian ordered. Joshua shot him a glare before ascending up the stairs, followed by Brian, Shawn, and Pete. "Yo, Travis, we got a little prob-….Uh, this is a bad time, isn't it?" Brian said. Travis was frozen still, his member deep inside Ella, who was lying on the cot, with duct tape over her mouth and tears streaming down her face.

"Um…..No," said Travis. He pulled out of Ella and began to zip his pants back up. "What's up?"

Brian pointed at Joshua. "This asshole attacked Larry and nearly broke his face," he said.

Travis walked over to Joshua. "Is this true, son? Did you hit Larry?" Joshua didn't have time to answer, as Travis punched him in the gut. Joshua collapsed to the floor, clutching himself. "DID YOU?!" Travis shouted. He kicked Joshua again, this time in the chest.

"Leave him be!" Shawn protested, but was held back by Pete. While Travis continued to beat up Joshua, Shawn looked over to Ella, who was still weeping softly. She locked eyes with him, and he could see that she was scared and in pain. Her eyes seemed to scream, "Help me!"

Travis kicked Joshua one last time, before stepping back to catch his breath. "Brian, take this scum back to his cell," he commanded. The thug picked up Joshua and threw him over his shoulder before exiting.

"Why is he here?" Travis pointed to Shawn.

"Your man Larry was abusing Joshua's brother, so I stood up for him. I know you like your work being done for you, but he's just a kid for Christ's sake!" Shawn told the leader.

"Is that what this is about? You bad-mouth one of my men and the other guy hits him?" Travis grabbed Shawn by the front of his sweater and held him close to his face. "I told you when I first met you, Shawn. _We_ are the ones who are destined to be in control. It is people like that kid Larry disciplined who are chosen by nature to do our bidding. So what if he hits him? Big fucking whoop!" He shoved Shawn back to Pete. "Take him back outside to the crop field."

Pete nodded and dragged Shawn down the stairs as Travis kicked the door shut. He turned to Ella. "Now, where were we?" he asked as he unzipped his pants.

* * *

Izzy, Nicole, Rodney, Vince, and Roger trekked through the forest, searching for the large herd of zombies that Izzy mentioned. Izzy stopped in her tracks and gave a small "Shush!" The other four young adults stopped behind her, weapons drawn. Izzy pointed ahead, and sure enough, a large herd of zombies were walking away from them, all bunched together.

Izzy pulled out her walkie-talkie. "Yo, Jaz! We found them!" she whispered loudly.

" _All right, fire away!"_

Nicole and Vince fired their guns into the air, successfully getting the attention of the zombies. Izzy pulled out two bullhorns and blasted them, while Nicole and Vince fired more rounds.

"You guys head back! Izzy's got this!" Izzy ordered.

"Are you sure?" asked Rodney.

"Yes, just go!" The other four looked at one another, and ran off in the opposite direction while Izzy stayed behind. As the dead inched closer, Izzy slowly began to walk backwards. "That's right, my pretties. Follow the Izzy!" She blew the bullhorns again and this time sprinted towards the campsite. "They're coming everybody!" Izzy shouted. All the other survivors ran towards the main road.

Jasmine, who already had the white SUV parked on the main road, honked the SUV's horn. "Come on, guys!" she shouted. Everyone piled behind the car as Izzy came running out of the woods, the zombies close behind her.

"Floor it, Aussie!" Izzy shouted. Jasmine put the car in drive and slowly began edge the car forward to allow the zombies to follow easily.

"Do we just keep going straight, Gareth?" Jasmine asked.

Gareth, his head buried in a map, looked up at the driver. "Yes, j-just keep g-going until we c-come t-to an intersection," he stuttered.

In the very back of the vehicle, Ezekiel through up again into his bucket. "It's all right Zeke," Bridgette tried to comfort him as she fanned him with Geoff's hat.

"I really ap-preciate this, eh," Ezekiel managed to say without puking. "Hey, Bridge, I…wanna s-say something."

Bridgette stopped fanning him. "What is it?"

Ezekiel didn't say anything for a moment, until: "I'm sorry….I'm sorry for all th-those things I said about girls…back during Total Drama Island," he weakly said, his eyes shut tight. "My father believed that stuff…..I was just…. repeating what he said." Ezekiel's voice was down to a whisper now. "The truth is….you're great. You're a strong, capable person and…I'm sorry."

Bridgette couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ezekiel was apologizing? This was all new to her. "Wow, Zeke. I really appreciate that. And I must admit, I'm sorry too….for being so hard you so quickly. I know you didn't get out much, and that wasn't entirely your fault," she said. "I guess we were both in the wrong, huh?" She didn't hear anything. She looked down at the prairie boy.

"Zeke?" she asked. Nothing; he sat still in his seat. "Oh no." She put her ear to his bare chest, but couldn't hear anything; Zeke was gone.

Bridgette stared at Ezekiel, tears beginning to form in her emerald green eyes. She brought Ezekiel's body close to her chest, hugging it tightly and softly sobbing into his hair. "I'm sorry," she whispered in between sobs. Bridgette held him for a little longer before taking her hunting knife in her hand. In one quick motion, she drove it into the back of Zeke's neck.

Jasmine swore she could hear crying and looked back. "What's going on, girl?" she asked.

Bridgette wiped the tears from her eyes. "Zeke's gone," she said.

"I'm sorry about that. Did you stop him?"

"Yes," she said, holding up her now blood-stained hunting knife.

"Right, we'll bury him later," Jasmine said.

 _*Later That Evening*_

Pete finished locking up the last of the prisoners in their cell. "Nighty night, y 'all!" he cackled. Pete walked back up the basement stairs and flipped off the lights before slamming the door.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Shawn asked Joshua as Jo lit the candlestick.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Besides, I've experienced worse," said the shaggy teen. He had a visible black eyes and a chipped tooth. "I wanna say thanks for sticking up for Miles."

"It's no problem. They can hit us, but they can't hit kids," Shawn said back. "Are there any others kids here?"

"There was one last week, but she was given to Nathan as a slave. She died after Nathan probed her privates with a knife as punishment for not giving him oral sex," said Miles, who sat in the other corner of the room next to a tired Ryan.

"You know what we should've done? We should've killed Pete when we had the chance so we could sneak out of here without anyone noticing," said Kenny.

"Perhaps, but how could we do it without causing too much noise?" asked Jo.

"Y 'all could've strangled him!" shouted a young prisoner from one of the other cells. Shawn and the others groaned at not taking the chance.

In Cooper's lab, Scarlett removed her knife from the zombie's skull. The specimen she acquired earlier proved to be too wild for her and Cooper, so she was forced to kill it and go retrieve another one. However, this turned out to be a lost cause as this one was even more wild than the previous one.

"Damn it, that's the third one this week!" Cooper griped.

"What can we do? These things are too aggressive," said Scarlett. She walked over to the other side of the room and plopped down in a small recliner while Cooper lit a cigarette.

"You want one?" he offered.

"Sure, what the hell," Scarlett shrugged and took one from the packet. Cooper lit it up for her and she puffed out a large cloud of smoke.

"Do you ever dream of getting out? Of this place, I mean," Scarlett asked.

"Oh, darling, I pray for it every night before I go to sleep. Don't get me wrong, what I'm doing could potentially turn the tide of our situation, but I cannot handle Travis's men anymore. They're too aggressive for my liking," said the scientist. He stroked his long black beard. "I think with just a little bit more time, we may be able to figure this out."

"But how? You said it yourself, all your previous attempts have ended in failure, so how can you be positive of a breakthrough now?" Scarlett put the cigarette between her lips.

"I don't know; maybe it's just the small part of the human spirit to keep on going," Cooper said.

"Hey, there's one thing I forgot to ask you earlier: How does place still have power?" she asked.

"This factory has its own generators. However, Travis has ordered the lights be turned off at 9:00 to conserve energy," Cooper answered. "And it is currently…." He checked his silver watch. "8:45, so the lights should be cutting off pretty soon."

Scarlett then remembered one more thing. "Oh, also, do I have to sleep in that cell again?"

Cooper shook his head. "No, there's a small room next door where I sleep and it's got an air mattress. You can sleep there if you want. Speaking of sleep, we should probably get some rest. I wanna dissect this one tomorrow to see if I can get any information from," he said, pointing to the zombie Scarlett had just killed.

Scarlett threw her cigarette on the ground and stomped on it, putting it out. "Okay, good night," she said.

"Night, Scarlett," Cooper said. Scarlett left the room and went into the room next door, hoping to get some sleep. However, she would not be getting much of it…

* * *

Jasmine pulled up to the side of the fence of the property. "Is this it, Gareth?" she asked.

Gareth looked out the window. "Oh yeah, th-this is it," he said.

Jasmine rolled the window down and hollered at the others. "This is the place! We're gonna head down a little farther, but leave the zombie's here! With that big of a herd, they might tear down the fence!" she shouted. She put the vehicle in drive again and headed down the way, the rest of the group following close behind. Meanwhile, the zombie horde had picked up some more dead ones along the way, and was now starting to pile up against the fence.

The group pulled to the front gates of the factory and Jasmine and Gareth hopped out, the former pulling the hammer back on her revolver.

"Ready guys?" she asked. Gareth, Alejandro, Lightning, Courtney, and Brick nodded, their pistols ready (except Courtney and Lightning, as they were using Shawn's shotgun and the sawed-off shotgun respectively). "Let's get Shawn back!" The six of them broke the gate lock with a bolt cutter and made their way to through the parking lot to the main building.

Sal, who was on patrol in that area, stopped in his tracks when he saw the massive horde of zombies at the fence.

"Holy shit!" he shouted. "Nathan, Larry! Get your asses out here! We got a problem!" he screamed into his radio.

Inside the factory, Brian locked Gwen in her large dog-cage. Gwen was still naked from being raped, and had a black eye.

"That wasn't too bad, but how about tomorrow you cooperate a little more, kay?" Brain asked, removing his leather jacket. Brian then jumped down on his cot and fell asleep in merely a few seconds. Gwen huddled into a ball and began sobbing softly, until she noticed something on the ground. It was a comb. The comb was close to the cage, almost at arm's reach. Gwen stuck her hand out of the cage and tried to grab the comb.

After trying to grab it for four minutes, she finally grabbed ahold of the comb. "Yes!" she whispered to herself and used the comb to lightly push the door handle up and pushed the cage door open quietly as to not wake up Brian. She stood up and stretched herself before walking over to her clothes that had been discarded on the floor and started to get dressed.

Back outside, Nathan and Larry ran up to Sal, their automatics locked and loaded. "Whoa, what the hell?" exclaimed Larry.

"I don't know but start shooting, there are too many of them and they're starting to cave in the fence!" Sal ordered and extended the stock on his Uzi before firing away. The two other thugs soon began firing their battle rifles at the zombies on the other side of the fence. They fired until their ammunition ran out, to which they began firing their Colt 1911s.

"There are too many of them! We need backup!" said Nathan.

"Well go get some!" shouted Sal as he shot another zombie. Nathan made a mad dash for the factory, not wasting a single second. However, Nathan was in such a rush, that he forgot to close the back door, leaving it ajar. And unfortunately for them, help would not come in time, as the zombie horde's weight caused the old fence to cave in, allowing the undead to flood in.

"Let's bail!" Sal said. He and Larry turned to run, but Larry tripped on a rock, which gave one zombie the opportunity to get on top of him and bite off a chunk of his cheek.

"SHIT!" Larry screamed as he tried to shoot the other zombies that were heading in his direction. He was only able to strike one in the head before he was overwhelmed. Sal could hear his companion screaming from within the horde before inserting a fresh magazine into his 1911. However, after three shots, the pistol jammed, and Sal was tackled to the ground while trying to unjam it. The last thing he saw before he died was a zombie ripping out his intestines and dozens of pale, decaying faces and hands trying to get their share.

* * *

Tanner had stripped Heather down and had just dropped his pants when he heard the faint sound of gunfire coming from outside.

"What the- AWWWWWWWWWW!" Tanner looked down to see Heather biting down on his penis. He tried to shake her off of him, but Heather had already let go, and Tanner came tumbling down. Before he knew it, Heather had punched him in the nose, and then punched him in the nuts. He looked down and saw that the head of his penis was missing.

Heather spat Tanner's penis head out of her mouth and it landed on Tanner's chest. "Rape that, shithead," she said before kicking him in the crotch, causing her captor to yelp with pain.

"You stupid bitch! You bit off my dick!" Tanner shouted in a high pitched voice. Heather began dressing herself while Tanner writhed on the ground in agony. After getting fully dressed, Heather picked up Tanner's Colt Detective revolver and pulled back the hammer, aiming it at his head.

"Yes, please kill me, please!" Tanner begged, grasping his bloody crotch. Just at that moment, the door busted open, and there stood Alejandro, aiming his silver 1911. In the background, Jasmine and the others could be seen peering into the room behind him.

Alejandro gasped in shock. "Heather!" he exclaimed with happiness. He ran up and hugged his girlfriend tightly.

"Oh God, Alejandro! Am I actually glad to see you!" Heather said. Alejandro gave Heather a kiss.

" _¿_ _Est_ _ás bien, bella?"_ he asked in Spanish, caressing her cheek.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," was all she said before the Latin broke the momentary silence.

"So this is the _bastardo_ ," he said. He aimed his pistol at his head but Heather stopped him.

"No, wait. He's suffering enough, let's just go." This shocked Alejandro.

"Are you sure?"

Heather nodded. Alejandro looked at Heather, then down at Tanner before flipping on the safety and putting the 1911 in the front of his pants. The two started to leave, but Heather turned to the caged Vivian.

She looked down at Tanner. "I believe you two have unfinished business," she said. She suddenly shot off the lock of the cage, and the former slave-turned-zombie stumbled out of the cage. The zombified Vivian wasted no time in getting on her knees and biting Tanner on the center of the throat, causing him to cough up blood.

"Okay, we can go now," Heather stated. The survivors fled the scene while Vivian continued knowing on Tanner's defenseless body.

"Heather, where are Shawn and the others?" asked Courtney.

"They're in the basement. Come on!" she said, leading the way. They turned a corner, and saw two thugs running with their guns drawn. Thankfully, they were gunned down by the gang before they could do anything.

"Take their guns," Jasmine ordered. Gareth picked up an M16, Heather picked up an MP5A2, and Courtney picked up a Beretta 92FS.

"Where's the basement?" Courtney asked Heather. The Asian pointed to the door at the end of the hallway.

When they reached it, Lightning tried to open it, but to no success. "This door must be broken or something. It's not sha-working!" he said stupidly.

"Move, meat-for-brains!" said Courtney and blasted the door open with Shawn's shotgun.

They practically ran down the staircase and flipped on the lights, waking up those who were already asleep from the day's work.

Shawn couldn't believe his eyes and sprang up from the ground. "Jasmine! Oh boy, am I glad to see you guys!" he said.

"Sha-get out of the way! We're gonna shoot off the lock!" said Lightning. Shawn and his cellmates moved away as Lightning blasted off the small padlock with his shotgun.

The prisoners exited their cell, and Shawn and Jasmine shared a small kiss. "Be sure to free the others," he reminded. Courtney and Lightning likewise freed the other inmates from their cells.

"How did you know we were here?" asked Chef.

"M-Me," Gareth raised his hand. "Hey, Josh."

"Gareth, buddy!" Joshua gave Gareth a hug, to which the stutterer returned. "Good to see ya again!"

"What's going on outside? I swear I thought I heard what sounded like gunshots," said Ryan.

"We were able to lure a large herd of zombies here to distract Travis's men so we could sneak in and rescue you," explained Brick.

"Wow, good work G.I. Joke!" Jo complimented.

"We need to get out of here quickly. The dead may already be in the compound if they haven't been stopped or controlled," said Miles. No one else said anything as they all bolted up the stairs to escape. They wandered the halls until they came across a door with the words, "Weapons Room" conveniently painted on the window. After turning on the lights, they saw various rifles, shotguns, and carbines lining the walls, as well as a single crate full of handguns.

"Take what you can!" ordered Shawn, who picked up a Chinese AK-47 with a small bayonet folded under the handguard. He turned to Jasmine. "Also, pack some weapons for the others outside too."

Brick picked up an M16A1 with a bayonet on the end. "I've always wanted a rifle like this," he said, chambering the rifle.

After everyone chose at least two weapons, they all piled out into the hallway, but rather cramped due to all the other people that had been freed.

Shawn Jasmine, and Lightning each had a duffel bag of guns slung on their backs. Shawn looked around at his friends and the other prisoners. "We're armed, and we're large. Let's blow this joint!" he shouted, throwing his Chinese AK-47 in the air. Everyone shouted a big "HOORAW!" before everyone except Shawn and his people ran down the hallway. One man in his early 50's stopped in front of Shawn and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks you," he said. Shawn patted him on the arm and the man ran off to join his comrades.

"Wait, w-we're just g-gonna l-let them g-go off on their own?" asked Gareth.

"Their numbers are big enough. I'm sure they can handle themselves," said Shawn. "Now, who are we missing?"

"Gwen, Scarlett, and-" Brick started to say when Ryan ran in the opposite direction.

"Ryan, where are you going?" Shawn called out.

"I'm gonna try to find Stephanie! I'll catch up!" the muscular man called back. Shawn thought about trying to convince him to forget her, but Ryan had already left the group before he could say anything. He nudged his group to follow him and ran off as more gunfire rang out.

* * *

It was surprising that Travis didn't wake up until he heard gunshots coming from inside the factory. He sprang up from his cot, completely naked from rape Ella again, and ran to his desk. He turned on his laptop and pulled up the security footage. On one camera, he could see Shawn and the others firing their new acquired guns at a guard that stumbled into their path.

"What the hell? How is that possible?" Travis muttered. He then checked another camera, the one near the back door. To his horror, he could see the massive horde heading towards the factory. "Oh shit!" he quietly cursed and immediately began dressing himself.

Ella rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What's happening?" she asked.

Travis finished putting on his dress shoes. "Get your stuff together, Sleeping Beauty, we're leaving," he ordered.

"What?" Ella asked, confused.

"I said get dressed, we don't have a lot of time!" Travis shouted. Ella, still half-awake, willingly obliged and started putting her princess-like clothes on while Travis began packing his escape bag. He put his Smith and Wesson M&P in his holster, then reached under his desk and pulled out an AKM. He grabbed Ella by the arm and exited his office.

Nathan ran through the factory, searching for anyone to help him fight off the zombies. He ran into Scarlett and Cooper, who had just woken up.

"Nathan, what in the name of Saint Peter is going on?" asked Cooper, who was still wearing his lab coat and full clothing.

"There's a big herd heading this way. I need y'all's help," he said, he reached into his holster and gave Cooper his Colt 1911. "Take this to defend yourself. Shoot to kill, otherwise they'll-"

 _ **BANG!**_

Nathan felt a ray of pellets go through his back, and his corpse fell in front of Cooper and Scarlett's feet. Their shirts covered in blood, they looked to see Joshua aiming a double-barreled shotgun at where Nathan once stood. Soon everyone else came around the corner.

"Well, thanks for getting blood on my sweater Joshua," Scarlett griped.

"Sorry about that, but we gotta get outta here. The zeds are coming," said the shaggy teen.

"How big is the herd?" asked Cooper.

"Pretty damn big, now I suggest we all find the exit and bail before we're either shot or eaten," said Alejandro. The group then took off once again, but Scarlett noticed that Cooper hadn't moved and was staring inside his lab.

The evil genius ran back to him. "Cooper, what are you doing? We have to go now!" Scarlett asked.

Cooper calmly said, "My research….I can't give that up."

"If we don't hurry, we might not make it. Besides, you might not have been close to a cure anyway," Scarlett continued.

"You don't know that!" Cooper yelled at her face.

"But this is your opportunity to escape! Didn't you tell me not too long ago that you prayed you would get out? Well, here's your chance! Take it!" Scarlett tried convincing him.

"I know very well what I said, it's just…..I may not get another chance to try to find a solution," Cooper pouted.

Scarlett sighed. "Okay, you can either come with us to freedom, or you can stay here and die with your findings. However, if you come with us, if we find a safe place somewhere, you may get the opportunity to do this again," she told him.

Cooper thought for a moment, not saying a word. Finally, he made his decision…

…

…

…

"Okay, I'll come. But first, let me get something," he said. He retreated back into his small lab for a minute, before emerging with a small black briefcase.

"What's in there?" Scarlett asked.

"Notes and such," Cooper replied simply. He put a black fedora on his bald head. "Let's roll." The two scientists ran off down the hallway, trying to find the others. The two finally made it to the front entrance, where they found Kenny waiting for them.

"There you guys are, come on!" he said before bolting out into the night.

* * *

Thanks to Nathan leaving the back door open, the zombies were able to slowly but surely pile in with ease. They stumbled through the cafeteria, and eventually began crowding the halls, desperately searching for more flesh to feast on. Blake turned a corner and saw the zombies advancing towards him.

"Oh fuck!" he screamed in fear. He fired his AKM into the horde in full auto. Gwen peered around the corner and saw Blake firing his weapon. With no weapon of her, she snuck up behind Blake and put him in a chokehold, causing him to fire a few bullets wildly. Gwen then took the AKM and bashed Blake's face in in one blow. Gwen spat on his face before taking the only spare magazine that was on his body and his revolver before running off. She didn't look back as the dead surrounded their next meal.

"I gotta find the others," Gwen said to herself, cocking the assault rifle. She suddenly spotted Travis and Ella at the other end of the hallway. Travis and Gwen fired their guns at one another, but only Gwen was able to get a hit; she managed to strike him in the shoulder, a couple of inches above his heart.

She ran up to Ella. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Ella nodded. "Yes, but he's not. Should we try to help him?" she asked.

Gwen stared at Ella, dumbfounded. "Are you serious? After what he did to you, you're worried about him? Let's just leave him for the dead," she scoffed. Ella looked down at Travis, who was trying to stop the bleeding.

She sighed. "You're right. Let's leave this son of a bitch." She gasped. "Sorry, I didn't mean to curse," she apologized.

"No time for apologies, come on!" Gwen grabbed Ella by the hand and led her down the corridor. Travis weakly reached into his holster and pulled out his M&P. He aimed it at the two girls and fired, hitting Ella in the back of the head.

"No!" Gwen shouted as Ella's limp body fell to the floor. In retaliation, Gwen shot Travis in the head from a distance with her AKM. She slung the rifle on her back and flung Ella's corpse on her shoulder. Gwen only looked back once to see the horde drag Travis's dead body away from sight.

She ultimately came across the main doors outside, and hurriedly fled the building. She noticed a stray zombie had wandered in, so she put it down with Blake's Smith and Wesson Model 15.

"Gwen!" she heard a voice cry out. She looked ahead to see Zoey, Kenny, and Trent running towards her.

"Oh thank God you guys are here!" the Goth girl exclaimed.

"Is she okay?" asked Zoey.

Gwen tried to fight the urge to cry. "Travis killed her," she spoke. The three remained silent.

"We'll bury her with Ezekiel. Come on!" said Trent, cocking his new MP5K he took from one of the bags of guns that Shawn had snuck out. The four ran through the small front parking lot and through the large gates open again.

* * *

Ryan ran through the hallways, calling out Stephanie's name. He randomly entered Blake's room, and he found his girlfriend, who had just finished getting dressed. Stephanie had dark African skin like her partner, with dark eyes, dark lipstick, and Miley Cyrus like hair that was died dark purple. She wore a dark red short-sleeved shirt that exposed her mid-drift, purple short-shorts, white socks that went all the way up her legs, and purple sneakers.

"There you are!" Ryan said. Stephanie ran up and gave Ryan a big, rough kiss.

"There you are baby! What's going on?" Stephanie asked.

"Zombies are attacking, but now's our opportunity to bail!" Ryan explained. Before Stephanie could say anything, he pulled her out of the room and into the hallway. One of Travis's men had reanimated and was advancing towards the couple, but Ryan blew his head off with his 8-shot Remington 870.

When they turned another corner, they saw the horde feasting on Travis's remains.

"Well fuck, I was hoping to kill him first," complained Ryan. The two retreated in the other direction, but that didn't stop the zombies from following them. They passed Tanner's room, when all of a sudden, the zombified Vivian emerged from the room, followed by a now reanimated Tanner. Vivian pinned Stephanie against the wall and tore a chunk out of her upper arm.

"Ahhh!" she screamed. Ryan grabbed Vivian by the back of the shirt and smashed her face against the white wall, dousing it with dark blood. He then turned around and shot Tanner in the face before he could bite Stephanie as well.

"Don't worry, I gotcha," said Ryan as he put his arm around her to help her walk. They limped towards the front entrance, but Pete and Brian ran out of nowhere, handguns drawn. The two thugs tried to shoot, but the young couple ducked behind a wall. Ryan pulled out his silver Colt Python and handed it to Stephanie.

"Use this, Steph," he said. Stephanie took the revolver and fired two shots, only able to hit Pete in the leg, sending him to the floor. As she tried to pull back the hammer, Brian used the opportunity to fire his Colt 1911 at Stephanie's chest.

"NOO!" screamed Ryan. Stephanie dropped the gun and she fell on her face. Ryan cocked his shotgun, saying, "This is for my girlfriend you son of a bitch." to himself, when he heard the oh-so familiar sound of moaning from behind. The zombies were just inches away from him now, so Ryan said, "Oh fuck it!" and ran as fast as he could out the door, narrowly avoiding Brian and Pete's gunshots. Once they saw the zombies, Brian helped Pete to his feet and carried him off to find a place to run or hide. They eventually made it to the manufacturing room and entered.

"There's no other way out, Brian. We're screwed," said Pete pessimistically.

"Don't give up yet, pal," Brian reassured. "We'll find us a way out." The zombie horde started to flood the room, so the two men wasted no time in trying to shoot them all. However, they didn't notice there was a second door in the back corner of the room and more zombies began piling in. One of the ones snuck up behind Brian and bit him on the side of the neck.

"Awww!" he yelped and pushed the zombie off of himself and shot it between the eyes. He put his hand to the side of his neck and he and Pete slowly began backing up to the far corner of the room, firing at any zombie that came within grabbing distance. The two goons backed up against the corner wall, almost out of ammunition. Knowing what might happen next, Pete looked his friend in the eyes.

"One." Pete cocked his Smith and Wesson Model 19 and put it under his chin.

Brian, still holding his hand against his neck bite, put his 1911 under his chin. "T-Two," he weakly spoke.

"Three!" The two men shouted together before pulling their triggers, and their brains went splattering on the walls.

* * *

The quartet of survivors fled back into the woods, but a lone zombie grabbed ahold of Kenny and sunk its teeth into his neck.

Kenny screamed in pain as the zombie tore out his jugular. Zoey pulled the zombie off of Kenny and stabbed it in the head with her hunting knife. Kenny collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and bleeding profusely, and within seconds, Kenny breathed his last.

"Oh my God, it killed Kenny!" said Trent.

"You bastard!" Gwen said in addition. **[1]**

Trent picked up Kenny in his arms, but with great difficulty, given Kenny's large body mass. The now three survivors ran into the forest until they spotted the others camping out.

"What happened to them?" asked Tyler.

"Ella was shot by Travis and Kenny was killed by a zombie," explained Zoey. "Speaking of which, we should probably put him down before he comes back."

"On it!" said Trent. He dumped Kenny's body on the ground and used his MP5K to shoot him in the side of the head. Ryan came running up to the group, tears in his eyes.

"Whoa, Ryan what's wrong?" asked Miles.

"Steph was killed," the muscular man said.

Gwen laid Ella's body on the ground. "Should we bury them now?" she asked.

"We'll have to do it later. We need to get as far away from this place as possible," said Shawn. "Load up everybody! We're heading for Toronto!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold up! You said a long time ago that the only reason to go there is that you have weapons stored away," said Chris.

"Yeah, so?" Shawn shrugged.

"Well, we're pretty well-armed now, so what's the point?" said Chris. A bunch of people started to agree with him.

"I'm the leader, and what I say goes! Now everyone get your stuff together!" Shawn snapped. This caught everyone totally off guard. Even Chris was a little shocked.

"Whoa, authoritarian much?" said Sierra.

"Shawn, we have everyone back together now, and we've got guns. Why do we have to Toronto?" Chuck said.

Shawn looked at his followers, and sighed. He laid his Chinese AK-47 against the SUV. "My dad lives in Toronto. I told him that in the case of the apocalypse, he needed to head to my bunker I built in the forest. I….I just wanna make sure he's okay," he explained. The entire group let his words sink in.

"But Shawn, if he's in your bunker, he should be safe. So why should we waste our time trying to check up on him?" asked Joshua, double-barreled shotgun rested on his shoulder.

"If Miles was somewhere far away in something like this, would you do anything to find him and make sure he's okay?" asked the prepper.

Joshua looked at his little brother. "Well…Yeah," he answered.

"Exactly. Now…come on. Let's go." Shawn picked up his weapon, walked around, and climbed into the front seat of the SUV. The others all looked around at one another, but decided not to try to argue, as they've had a rough last couple of days. They loaded up their stuff and followed the SUV driven by Jasmine into the dark night. None of them knew what they may encounter as they cross the Ontario border, but they all knew one thing: they would be ready anyway.

 **[1]: I couldn't resist putting in a South Park reference.**

 **Important: If a character's name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. If they're in normal text, they're unknown. For those who are dead, they appear in reverse order of when they died (i.e. Staci was the first death, so she's last, then Justin is second-to-last, and so forth).**

 **Shawn's Group:**

 **Chris, Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Topher, Beardo, Scarlett, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, Cameron, B, Dakota, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, Alejandro, Sierra, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Heather, Cody, Trent, Gwen, Noah, LeShawna, Tyler, DJ, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Nicole, Vince, Miguel, Gareth,** _Kenny, Ella,_ _Ezekiel,_ _Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's Group:**

 **Joshua, Miles, Ryan, Cooper,** _Pete, Brian, Stephanie, Travis, Blake, Nathan, Tanner, Sal, Larry_


	12. Conflict and Resolution

**Happy Veterans Day!**

 **Previously, on Surviving the Dead: After informing the others of Shawn's whereabouts, Gareth leads the gang and a large horde of zombies to Travis's compound. Along the way, Ezekiel dies of his bite and is put down by Bridgette. Chaos ensures at the factory, as zombies overrun the facility, killing many of its inhabitants, and giving Shawn and his friends the opportunity to escape. However, Ella and Kenny die during the attack, and Shawn reveals the true reason for heading to Toronto: he wants to find his father. Now reunited and armed to the teeth, the group of survivors continues on…**

 _*Two Months Later*_

 _Shawn was deep within the forest, running from something. He soon saw a lone zombie up ahead, and shot it with his silenced M &P. He looked back, to see the horde staggering behind. He turned back ahead, when a zombie talked him to the ground from behind a tree. The zombie prepper struggled greatly and put the silenced pistol to the monster's head and pulled the trigger. _

_Shawn groaned as he pushed the dead zombie off of him and tried to get to his feet. He only made a few feet before another roamer stumbled out of nowhere and tackled him again. This caused Shawn to drop his pistol, and his machete was out of reach due to the zombie on top of him. Shawn stared into the creature's eyes._

" _Shawn?" he heard the zombie say. Shawn was taken aback. Did that zombie just speak? "Shawn?" the zombie repeated._

"Shawn? Wake up!" Shawn opened his eyes, to see Connor looking down at him. "Wake up, man. We got stuff to do," Connor said. It was just another dream.

"What?...Oh yeah, I'll be out in a few," Shawn answered. Connor nodded and walked away. Shawn sat up and stretched before checking his surroundings. He was sitting at the back of a school bus, a bus that was littered with sleeping bags and empty cans of food, amongst other things.

Things had not been going great for Shawn's group for the past two months. Three days after they left Travis's compound, they crossed the Ontario border, but the group ran into another herd, where Dawn, Miguel, and Dakota were devoured, the last death leaving Sam depressed for a few days. The group had little luck finding any other vehicles to use. They were able to find a school bus and a minivan, but they would often break down. As for food, they barely found enough food to keep them going, relying on the game that Roger, Eva, and Scott had caught. The group was now camping in a field, surrounded by large spikes to keep zombies out. As they were in the month of November, the leaves were starting to change into beautiful colors of red, orange, and yellow.

Shawn exited the bus and checked himself in the large side view mirror. His face was a bit dirty, and he was starting to grow a small beard. Shawn groaned at this, as he was not a fan of full beards. He walked over to a small make-shift table, where Sky, Jasmine, Chuck, Joshua, Brick, and Jo were gathered around.

"Have you got everything mapped out?" Shawn asked.

"Yes, we've got it all figured out," said Sky. "The next town is a little one about fifty miles from here." Sky rubbed her hand through her hair and pointed to a small spot on the map that had been circled in pen. Unlike most of the members of the group, Sky's hair never seemed to grow. Noah and Chef walked up to the group.

"Have we done an ammunition count?" Shawn asked.

"Noah and I just got done. We have enough to last us another two days if we conserve wisely. Let's just hope that the next town has a gun shop," said Chef.

"All right, thanks Chef," Shawn replied. "How are we on gas?"

"The SUV's got like a quarter of a tank, and last time I checked the minivan it was near empty," Brick answered, placing his M16 on the table.

Shawn sighed heavily. "We'll have to use the last of the gas wisely. There's gotta be a gas station in the nearby town that could help."

"When should we head out?" asked Jo.

"Go around and tell everyone that we'll leave in the next fifteen minutes. And EVERYONE must come; we need all the help we can get," Shawn ordered. Everyone dispersed from the table to inform everyone, while Shawn stared down at the map.

Rodney was trying to fix the SUV engine, until Nicole walked past. "You need some help, big guy?" she asked.

Rodney moved aside so his friend could help. While he had been trying to fix it for the past hour, Nicole surprisingly fixed the starter in three minutes flat before slamming the hood. "There we, all done," she said with a smile, hands on her hips.

The large boy was impressed. "Wow, where did you learn that?" he asked, his voice beginning to trail off with love-induced admiration.

"My pop taught me how. A girl's gotta be self-sufficient," Nicole said.

Rodney stared at her longingly again. "Wow, that's cool. You're amazing," he chuckled.

The blonde took notice of this. "Rod, for the last time, I'm gay. But I appreciate it," she said. Rodney's enchanted smile and daze faded and was replaced with disappointment.

"Sorry, I forgot," he mumbled, his head hanging low. Nicole hated to see her friend like this and patted him on the back.

"Hey, cheer up, big fella. You'll find someone," she reassured him, making the farm boy smile a bit.

Cooper was sitting outside his tent, staring at a picture in his hand.

"What's that?" he heard Scarlett ask.

"Nothing!" Cooper tried to put the picture away, but Scarlett snatched it out of his hands. She held it up, and saw Cooper and another man in the picture. The man was wearing a dark blue graduation cap and gown, smiling boldly while Cooper smiled beside him.

"Who's this?" Scarlett asked as she studied the picture.

"That's me and my son Brandon at his college graduation," the bald scientist answered. "He was the valedictorian of his class; he was gonna go into physics. In fact, he was offered a job at a hadron collider in Switzerland, and he left once the virus started to spread worldwide…I have no idea if he's alive, dead, undead…..or worse."

The redhead looked at him, feeling a rare sense of sympathy. "I can't believe this is coming from _my_ mouth, but I'm sorry, Cooper. Truly I am," she said after a moment.

Cooper stroked his long black beard. "Thanks, kid."

Scarlett returned the photo to him. "Listen, Shawn's said that we're going to try to investigate the nearest town fifty miles from here. And everyone must come along."

Cooper put the photo back in his lab coat pocket and looked up at Scarlett. "Wait, everyone? I'm sorry, but I can't go."

"Why not?" Scarlett asked.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed over the past two months we've known each other, I'm a horrible fighter. Remember five days ago when I almost shot Gareth when he was wrestling with a roamer? Or how about three days after we escaped Travis's factory? While the dead were busy devouring Miguel, I was nearly taken myself after I hesitated to use my machete and Harold had to come to my aid," Cooper ranted.

"He's not wrong!" shouted Harold from afar, who was cleaning his katana.

Scarlett and Cooper rolled their eyes before Scarlett spoke up. "Look, that may be true, but I can show you how to fight. You need this doctor," she said. "Get your stuff together; we should be heading out pretty soon." She walked away from the scene, leaving Cooper to himself once more.

Topher observed himself in a small hand mirror. "Man, I really need a bath soon so I can wash my face. I'm starting to get some pimples!" he complained.

"Please, will you shut the fuck up? You've been complaining about that for the past three weeks!" said Noah, who was loading fresh bullets into his Colt Python.

Connor shivered as he loaded his lever-action rifle. "Oh boy, I hope we find some jackets here pretty soon, I'm freezing," he said.

"Got that right," DJ agreed. "Shouldn't we be getting some snow around this time?"

"To answer your question, yes, we should be experiencing snow here pretty soon. In fact, I'm a little surprised that we haven't got any yet," Cameron said, walking up to the two. "When we reach the next town, we need to stock up on warm clothing." The three teens agreed and went their separate ways.

Amy was walking along the spikes, when she noticed a two zombies stumble out of the forest. Eyes wide, Amy pulled out her Beretta and pulled back the hammer.

"Don't you dare fire that weapon!" cried out a voice. Amy looked to the side to see Vince walking over, who was bare-chested from chopping wood. "Let 'em do their thing." Amy obeyed, but still kept her finger on the trigger as the two roamers walked onto the spikes, impaling them. The tall man removed his Bowie knife, walked up to the two impaled zombies, and stabbed one under the chin and the other through the temple.

"Ammo is precious, blondie. Use it wisely," said Vince, inserting the knife back into his sheath.

"Listen to him, sis. You could learn something," said Sammy when she walked past. Amy groaned and tripped her sister, and she fell hard on her face.

"Whoops, my bad," Amy faked an apology, laughing. Sammy sat up and spat out some dirt. "Bitch," she muttered. She soon felt Amy grab the back of her collar and she was hoisted up. Amy delivered a punch to Sammy's eye and pinned her face against a tree, twisting her sister's arm behind her back.

"You wanna know something, _sis_? I've just about had it with you. These past few months have been stressful enough with no showers, decent food, or...uh, showers! I swear, sometimes, I wish you would have died already. At least then I wouldn't have to deal with your horse shit all day. You need to start learning who's the boss in this sibling pair, otherwise I may just have to end my seventeen-year-long suffering and kill you myself. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" Amy harshly whispered into Sammy's ear.

Sammy didn't say anything; she had nothing to apologize for. Amy twisted her sister's arm harder, making the innocent girl whimper is misery. "I said, WHAT do you have to SAY FOR YOURSELF?!" she nearly yelled.

"S-Sorry," she whispered. This didn't satisfy Amy, so she grabbed her sister by the hair and forced her face against the bark. Sammy felt a little dizzy, and this finally caused the tears to start flowing.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I, uh, didn't quite hear you, _sis_ ," Amy mocked.

Sammy had her eyes shut tight, as if in some desperate and almost pathetic attempt to block out her tormenter's words. "I'm sorry, okay?" Sammy sobbed.

Satisfied at last, Amy turned her twin around and rubbed the dirt off of her face. Although, she was really rubbing Sammy's tears into her scratches with a look of pleased sadism. "That's a good girl. Now, beat it." She pushed her to the grass and began walking off. "I'm gonna go flirt with that hunk over there," she said as she walked in Vince's direction. Sammy stared through her sad tears as Amy disappeared from her blurry vision. However, she soon saw someone standing above her.

"Need a hand?" asked Mike, extending his right hand. Over the course of two months, Mike was had started to grow a faint, but otherwise noticeable mustache and goatee. He also had found a way to make his left stump useful: he had taken a tennis ball container and fit it on his arm rather tightly, and duct taped a hunting knife to the end of it. **[1]**

Sammy accepted his hand and he got her to her feet. "Thanks, Mike," the good twin said, rubbing her tears away.

"No prob. Are you okay?" he asked.

Sammy shook her head yes. "Yeah..I mean, it sucks being related to her, but trust me, she's...done much worse back home," she said.

"I've seen the way she's treated you on the show, and I've had my fair share of being bullied. You deserve better," he said.

"I know, but it looks like she's not going anywhere any time soon." She hesitated. "Amy can be a total bitch, but she's still my sister, and I care about her…Or at least, to a VERY small extent," Sammy said, twiddling her thumbs while letting out a small, fake chuckle.

Mike nodded. "I get it. Scott still gives me crap from time to time, and even though I wanna teach that redneck a thing or two, I can't bring myself to do it. I'm just not that kind of person, and neither are you," said the tanned teen. He saw Zoey waving to him. "Hey, I gotta go talk with Zo, so are you fine?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Sammy reassured. Mike smiled and ran off to see his girlfriend, while Sammy went over to talk to Roger and Chelsea.

Mike walked over to Zoey. "What's up, babe?" he asked.

"Can I speak to you in private?" she asked. Mike found this odd, but agreed and the two walked inside their tent.

Zoey sighed. "I missed my period," she said.

Mike's face turned into one of shock and concern and didn't say anything for a while; he honestly didn't know what to think. "Are you sure? You know there aren't any calendars around to keep track, hehe," he chuckled nervously.

"I'm pretty sure, Mike. The condom must have broken, so I must be-"

"We don't know that yet!" Mike nearly screamed. "You could just be malnourished or something!"

"Well, unless we find some pregnancy tests in town, I'm convinced that I'm pregnant," Zoey insisted. Mike wiped the sweat from his forehead. Could this be true? Could he and will he be a father? It was all happening so fast.

He sighed. "Okay, if there's a pharmacy or something like that in town, we'll look for some tests, but I hope this isn't for real," he said.

"What's that supposed to mean? Do you not want kids with me?" Zoey asked, offended.

"What? No, no, I wanna have kids with you, just not now," Mike stammered. This made Zoey feel a little better, but not entirely.

"Okay, but seriously, when we reach town, you and I need to look for some tests," she concluded before walking out of the tent.

"Not gonna get a hug or a kiss?" Mike called. No answer. "Damn."

Heather was standing near a few of the spikes, watching the sunrise. She yelped in fear when someone grabbed her by the hips. She withdrew her knife and turned to strike when she saw a familiar Latin shielding his face.

"Heather, Heather! Relax, it's just me!" Alejandro yelled in fear.

Heather soon regained her composure. "Oh, it's just you," she said, peace flowing through her speech.

Alejandro also recomposed himself. "Of course it's me. Who else wraps you from behind like that?" he said with a seductive tone. While Heather liked being touched by her lover, she had not felt comfortable with being physical with Alejandro for a while.

Heather sighed and turned back to face the sun rise above the trees. "I'm sorry. It's just...as you can tell, I haven't really been myself since..." She trailed off. Alejandro knew what she was referring to and walked beside her and slowly placed his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

"You were raped...I get it; someone of your fine perfection does not deserve to be the victim of a barbaric act like that," he said. Man, did he know how to butter her up. "But remember; that _cerdo_ is dead. You have absolutely nothing to fear. I know you are a noble lady worthy of fending for herself, but I blame myself for not being there by your side when those men came that night."

He turned her to face him, their eyes meeting. "Because then we both would not have suffered if I had been there. You've been distancing yourself away from me these past few months, and it's killing me. Please, not just for me, but for both of us...please come back." Those last three words had a deeper meaning than one might assume.

It was at that moment, the Asian girl smiled for the first time since that night. She and her partner shared a slow kiss. After separating, Alejandro said, "Come on. We have things to do."

Meanwhile, Chris sat in the back trunk of the SUV, staring at a Glock 17 he had found a week prior. Engraved into the plastic slide was the word, "Soul-Taker". In a rather sick way, and Chris would have never admitted this, the name was fitting. He was interrupted from Topher walking up and striking up a conversation. "You all right, Chris?" he asked.

The former host looked at Topher. "Y-Yeah….I'm fine," he replied.

"Something on your mind?" Topher asked.

Chris shook his head. "Nah, it's just…..what's Shawn's plan?"

Topher quirked an eyebrow. We're heading to the nearest town to forage," he started, but was cut short by his idol before anymore could be said.

"No, no, not that. What I mean is is that what's the big plan here? Even if he does find his _long-lost daddy_ , what's the thing? He hasn't said anything else. All this is just for his needs, and not the whole group's. That's pretty damn selfish if you ask me," he criticized.

Topher laughed. "Ha! Oh really, and you think YOU could do any better?" he said, his arms folded.

"Is that even a question? Yeah!"

Topher stared at his idol with. "After everything that's happened, from the show to the two lives you took for your own sake, you really think that you're any different? I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen," he stated.

Chris got up from his seat, placing his handgun on the carpet flooring. "Are you fucking kidding me?! I said my piece, I had my stupid reasons, so why won't you guys forget it?" he angrily demanded.

"Shawn is doing this because he knows his shit. Yes, him hauling us through the country just to get to _his_ bunker and find _his_ dad does seem a little self-centered, but nonetheless, he's gotten us this far, and I find that respectable. And the most important part: he never murdered anyone who didn't have it coming in any way. Shawn will get us through this," Topher declared before walking away.

Chris stared at the kid as walked away. _'Oh so you think,'_ he thought.

* * *

Everyone loaded up their stuff and started getting their weapons for the trip into town. Shawn shut the doors to the bus pulled away from the camp ground and onto the main road, the other two vehicles following close behind.

"Remind me Harold, how far we are from Toronto?" asked Shawn.

"Seventy miles," Harold replied. "And just to be clear, we're not gonna go through the actual city, right? Are we just checking the outskirts?"

"Yes, and we're not scavenging there. My bunker should have some extra stuff if my dad hasn't used them up yet," Shawn answered.

At the back of the bus, Cody, Sierra, Tyler, and Miles were talking.

"So anyway, long story short, my brother ends up covered head to toe in grease and feathers! Best April Fool's Day prank ever!" Miles finished his story before the other three started laughing again.

"Wow, Miles, that's hilarious! I've pulled some wicked pranks on my brother before, but that one's the bomb!" laughed Tyler.

"Thanks, man. Joshua spent two weeks cleaning grease out of his hair," Miles thanked.

"Yeah, and I really didn't appreciate it," Joshua stated. Sierra looked over across the aisle, and saw Joshua trying to saw off the twin barrels off his shotgun. Joshua noticed the fan girl staring at him. "Sawed-off shotguns do more damage," he explained.

Near the front of the bus, Courtney faced the back of her seat to face Bridgette and Gwen. "Do you girls have any extra tampons? I think I'm supposed to get mine pretty soon," she whispered.

Bridgette shook her head. "Sorry, Court. I'm down to my last one," she said.

"I've got two," said Gwen, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a small plastic bag. She removed one of them from the bag and handed it to the CIT.

"Wow, thanks," Courtney thanked her enemy. She put the tampon in her pocket. "Hey, I never got to say this, but I'm sorry about what happened with Zeke and Ella. They didn't deserve it."

Gwen and Bridgette both smiled. "Thank you, Courtney. We really appreciate it," Gwen thanked.

"You're welcome. But to tell you the truth, I really don't know how long any of us have left. We've lost sixteen people since we were tossed into this world of shit three months ago, and it makes me wonder if we will ever find a safe place we can call home before we're all dead and gone," Courtney told the two women, who remained silent after she finished.

"Well…No matter what happens, at least we'll be together. Well, for the most part," said Bridgette. She yawned a little. "I'm gonna snooze for a bit; wake me when we get there." She rested her head against the window and closed her eyes. Courtney sat back down in her seat, and Gwen soon heard Heather " _psst_ -ing" her, trying to get her attention from the next seat over.

"I used to think that it would only come down to Shawn, that tall Amazon chick, and maybe a few others. I still believe that deep down, but I think we'll be cool," she said.

Gwen smiled at her enemy. "Thanks Heather," she said. Before she could go back to her drawing, Heather got her attention again.

"Hey...I'm sorry about happened to you," she said, reminiscing about the brief, but unforgettable time of being raped in that hellish prison.

Gwen sensed this and smiled. "Same to you," was all she said. However, this did not end there as Heather said, "Hey!" again, this time offering her hand. The goth girl was stunned by this. Was she trying to make peace?

Heather read the confusion off Gwen's face. "I'm not great with apologies or whatever, but when you and I were treated like trash by those men, I realized that despite our differences, we're the same. We both showed on the night of our escape that we will stop at nothing to fight back against anyone who goes against us. So, what's the point in our feud? We're gonna be with each other until one of us dies, so we might as well make he best of it." She offered her hand again, and Gwen slowly, but willingly, accepted it. While the conflict between the two wasn't completely resolved, both girls, and anyone who might have been listening in, knew that the tension was surely thawing away...

* * *

The group drove for fifty miles before reaching their destination. The group emerged from their vehicles, readying their guns. The town they had found must have been an outpost during the beginning days of the outbreak, as giant walls seemed to form a barrier, with giant military trucks behind them to act as extra support, as well as sniper positions. Shawn walked up to the large wooden door and put his ear to it.

"What's he doing?" asked LeShawna.

"He's listening to see if there's anyone or anything on the other side," explained Roger.

Shawn removed his ear and extended the bayonet on his Chinese AK-47. "Okay, we go in, grab what we can, and get out. This time, be SUPER cautious when investigating a building, because we all know what happened with Mike," Shawn said. "The door appears to be locked on the inside, so we're gonna have to crawl over. Chef, bring the bus over here so we can climb over."

The black cook walked back to the bus and brought it over to the side of the wall. One by one, each person got inside the bus, crawled through the overhead emergency exit, and walked on the roof before hopping over the wall. Once everyone was over, Shawn once again began spitting out orders.

"If you spot any dead ones, use your knifes and such. Ammo is scarce, and we don't wanna draw more attention," he gave his final order before everyone split up to scavenge.

Shawn, Topher, Chris, Izzy, and Trent came across four zombies chewing on a small animal. Shawn stabbed one through the eye with his AK bayonet, while Topher and Izzy decapitated the other three. The five of them looked down at the poor victim: a German Shepard, or what looked like a German Shepard. The zombies had torn away so much flesh it was difficult to distinguish the breed, but they were positive it was a German Shepard. "Let's check out that building over there," Trent pointed to a random building.

Inside a book store near the entrance, Sky, Connor, Gwen, Tyler, and Harold browsed through the building.

"See anything?" Sky called out.

"Nope! Just books!" said Harold.

Connor walked down one aisle, and spotted a corpse in the center. He withdrew his knife as he inched closer. He bent down, but saw that the corpse's head had been hit in the head with something, but nevertheless held his weapon steady. He looked around and saw some kind of novel under the body. Connor pushed the corpse on its back and picked up the book: a bible.

Tyler walked up behind Connor, a bolt-action hunting rifle slung on his shoulder. "Whatcha got there?" he asked.

"Something I haven't seen since I left home," Connor replied with a small smile. He opened his duffle bag and tossed the book in there. "I may grab a few more; sometimes it can get rather boring." He walked down the aisle, trying to find more books that seemed interesting while Tyler shrugged and walked off.

In another part of the book store, B was browsing the self-help section, where he saw a large book on a shelf, laying on its side. The silent teen picked it up, and looked at the cover: _Learning How to Overcome Shyness_ , the title read. B smiled and tossed the book into his bag.

On the farther side of town, Chuck, Mike, Zoey, Alejandro, Heather, Gareth, Scarlett, and Cooper were investigating a small supermarket. Zoey and Mike were in the women's health section, where they succeeded in finding a small box of pregnancy tests.

"Come with me to the bathroom. I wanna find out now," Zoey gestured, and she and her boyfriend walked towards the bathrooms in the back of the store.

Scarlett and Cooper found a door in the back labeled, "Manager's Office". Cooper slowly turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open. Scarlett shined her flashlight into the room, and almost immediately onto something in the middle of the room. The zombified manager was hanging from a noose and started to growl and stretch its arms when it spotted the two.

"I got this," said Cooper. He pulled out his pocket knife and walked over to the zombie. He stood on a swivel chair and cut the zombie from its noose, before stabbing it in the temple.

"I hope we find more later; I'd like to practice my shooting skills," he said.

"How about let's NOT do that," said Scarlett, arms crossed. "It's great you want to get more practice, but we should save our ammunition. As the two began walking towards the front, Gareth was perusing through the pharmaceuticals. Without really much thought, he tossed a bunch of painkillers and cough medicine into a bag. Chuck passed by in time to see Gareth finish.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked with suspicion.

Gareth began sweating. "Uh, n-nothing. J-Just, uh, packing a lot s-so we have e-enough?" he said, with a fake smile. The cop took his word for it and wandered off. Gareth slung the bag across his body and walked out the front door ahead of everyone else.

Mike waited outside the women's restroom for Zoey. She emerged from the restroom, her face white as a sheet.

"It was positive," she said, looking Mike dead in the eye.

Mike quietly gasped. "Wow…I don't know what to say, Zoey. I'm shocked…but I'm also excited. You always said that someday you'd like to have my children," he said.

"Yeah, but in a safe environment where we would not have to worry about its safety every damn day!" the redhead spat. She realized how she said her sentence. "I'm sorry, Mike. I'm just worried about our future….about our baby's future."

"No, no, it's okay. It's okay to be a little worried. But I promise, until that baby is born, I won't let you out of my sight." He softly kissed her on the lips. "Come on, let's go join the others." The two teenagers walked towards the front entrance, hand in hand.

Chef, Joshua, Miles, Noah, Scott, and DJ were wandering around an abandoned car lot, trying to see if any of the fancy sports cars would start.

Miles hit the steering wheel of a white Volvo in frustration. "Darn it! That's the fourth one that won't work," the preteen complained. Noah stared at the kid in awe.

"I'm amazed at how someone your age can even hotwire a car, or at least try to," he said.

Miles crawled out of the car and slammed the door shut. "Thanks. Back in school, I was known for being quite crafty when it comes to machinery. In fact, one time-" he started to tell another story when the two heard an engine start. They turned to see the source of the noise: a large red pickup truck with huge monster-truck like wheels. Scott rolled down the window.

"Wassup, bitches?" the dirt farmer called, now wearing a pair of sunglasses.

"Wow, you could crush a whole herd of roamers with that monster!" complimented Joshua, resting his shotgun on his shoulder. The weapon now had no stock and the barrels had been completed sawed off.

"Hop in, y'all!" Scott invited. The five men climbed up the massive beast and the truck rolled out of the lot towards the front gates.

Jasmine, Roger, Chelsea, Courtney, Amy, Sammy, Cameron, and Beardo exited from a gun shop. All of them were disappointed at hardly finding anything.

"Well, that quest for bullets was a waste," said Chelsea.

"Hey Jasmine, what's that over there?" Sammy asked, pointing to a building across the street. The door and windows were boarded up, with a large padlock wrapped around the door handles.

"I think that's a diner, given its size. Should we check it out?" Jasmine asked. The others silently agreed and crossed the street. Beardo aimed his M4A1 at the door and after firing a few shots, the lock fell to the ground. He then removed the chains holding the two doors together and flung open the doors. All of a sudden, zombies began pouring out of the diner, catching everyone off guard. One of them fell onto Beardo as he let out a siren sound effect. The monster took a chunk out of his cheek while scratching his chest.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" said Courtney, shooting a zombie dead with her shotgun. As two other zombies joined in ripping Beardo apart, the other six started to gun down as many as they could. Once the last one dropped to the ground, Jasmine walked over to Beardo's bloody, disemboweled corpse and used the last bullet in her revolver to shoot him in the head.

"And so another one bites the dust," said Roger, inserted a new arrow into his crossbow.

Sierra and Cody came running over. "What happened here?" asked Cody.

"Someone locked up a bunch of zombies in that diner. We opened it to see if there was anything inside that might be useful, but they came out and killed Beardo," Chelsea explained. "Where did you guys come from?"

"We just came from a hardware store, but we have a big problem. We noticed there was a large portion of the fence is down, and your gunshots are beginning to attract more dead ones," said Sierra.

"Have you tried to contact Shawn?" asked Sammy.

"We tried, but our radio is dead," Cody replied.

"Well, shit. Okay, let's get out of here," said Roger. The nine survivors ran off back to where Cody and Sierra had come from.

* * *

"Where did those shots come from?" asked Chris.

"Sounds like they came from the far side of town," said Shawn. He soon spotted a few zombies turn a corner. "Take care of them," he ordered. Topher and Trent ran up to three zombies and dispatched them all, but turned the corner and soon saw the dozens of other zombies just inches from them.

"Oh shit!" Topher shouted in fear and started unloading his USP.

"Fall back!" Shawn screamed and he and his companions ran for it. The small group sprinted for their lives until they saw a small bar up ahead. The five of them looked at the size of the horde, and saw that running around outside was no longer in their deck of cards. Shawn threw open the glass door to the bar and turned to Topher. "Toph, you and Chris hold them off while the rest of us try to find a back exit," Shawn said. He gestured for Izzy and Trent to follow him into the dark building while Chris and Topher readied themselves.

"How much ammo do you have?" Topher asked Chris. Chris checked his Glock 17.

"Seven. How about you?" he asked.

"About ten. Let's make these count," said Topher and shot a zombie in between the eyes. He and Chris fired their handguns until they each were down to their last round. Topher turned to Chris, who was staring blankly at the advancing horde.

"Chris? Chris, you okay?" Topher asked. The former host did not answer, but slowly turned his head to the kid, a dark, expressionless look on his face.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 _ **BANG!**_

Chris fired his last bullet into Topher's foot. "Aw!" Topher yelped and fell onto the pavement, dropping his bag of supplies. "Wh-What the hell, man?!" Topher choked up, grasping his foot while a small tear fell from his eye.

"That's what you get for blabbing," Chris spat. Was he serious? After nearly two months after the incident, Chris hadn't got over Topher and Shawn telling everyone what he had done? Chris reached down and took Topher's bag and pistol, and walked inside the bar, slamming the door behind him before locking it. Topher somehow managed to summon the strength to hoist himself up and limp towards the front door.

"Chris! Open the door you bastard!" Topher shouted through the glass door. Chris just stood in place and watched with a blank expression as Topher banged on the door, his screams becoming more and more desperate and fearful as the dead got closer. The zombies reached the terrified teen and soon started munching on him. As one zombie gnawed on his arm and another tore out a piece of his neck, one zombie in particular plunged one of its fingers into his right eye, slowly ripping it out while taking a small stretch of flesh from his cheek with it.

"This is on you, Topher….Not me, but you," said Chris on the other side. The zombies pulled Topher's body to the ground to finish him off, the glass stained with his blood. "Now, all I have to do, is dispose of Shawn, and then I'll be the one in power….as I was always supposed to be... But you were right about me." He grinned at his own remark. "It'll all look like an accident...and you will burn like all the rest. All because you didn't take the time to dispose of me yourself. How fitting," he concluded. He smiled and turned to leave when…

 _ **SMASH!**_

"AWWWWWWW!" Chris screamed and fell to the floor, his hands over his face. Shawn stood above him, holding the stem of a now broken vodka bottle in his hand. Chris removed his hands from his face; a grotesque sight. His face was covered in blood, and Shawn could swear he could see tiny shards of glass stuck in his flesh. Shawn delivered a swift, angry kick to Chris's side. He looked out the glass door, the zombies now fighting over Topher's organs.

He sighed and picked up both Chris and Topher's bags. "Good-bye, Chris," was all Shawn said before shooting two holes in the glass door with his silenced pistol, allowing a few zombies to crawl through. Shawn started to head towards the back, only looking back once to see Chris writhing in pain and screaming in fear as more zombies entered into the bar. Shawn walked into the sunlight shining through the back door, Izzy and Trent standing guard on either side.

"What happened, Shawn?" asked Trent.

"Topher and Chris are dead; let's go before more come," Shawn said without emotion. Izzy and Trent looked at each other, but shrugged it off. The three went down the back alley, until a lone zombie tackled Shawn, causing him to drop his walkie-talkie, which slid under a dumpster. The prepper wrestled with the monster until he managed to throw it off of him.

"We gotta find the others," he said, driving his machete into its head. The trio ran through the streets, until they saw the hole in the fence that Sierra and Cody had mentioned, where more and more zombies were stumbling through.

"Guys!" the heard a voice shout. They turned to see Nicole and her group running up to them. "Wow, that's a lot of them. Where's everybody else?" asked Nicole.

"We don't know, we just need to get out of this town before we're all dead," said Trent, firing his MP5K. The merged group headed for the front exit, where Bridgette, LeShawna, Rodney, Nicole, and Vince had already made it to the front gate. Gareth, for some reason not sticking with his group, was also present.

"We gotta get this damn gate open!" exclaimed Vince.

 _ **HONK! HONK!**_

Turning from a corner at the far end of the street, Scott drove his monster truck quickly through the front gate, causing wood to go flying everywhere.

"Well, th-that oughta do it!" said Gareth.

Shawn whistled to get Scott's attention. "Wait here for everyone else!" he shouted before turning to head back into town.

"Where are you going?" asked Nicole.

"I'm going to go find anyone that's still missing. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, head east," said Shawn, pulling his AK off his back.

"I'll go with you," said Bridgette, cocking her M4A1, which was equipped with a holographic sight.

"Same!" said Miles.

Joshua grabbed his brother before he could climb out of the back of the monster truck. "Nuh-uh. There's NO way I'm gonna let you go in there; I'll go," he said.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Come on, Josh. I can handle myself…Trust me," said the redhead. Joshua stared at him, but nodded his head approvingly.

"Okay, but stay close to them," he warned, hugging Miles. The preteen hopped down from the monster truck bed and cocked his silenced MAC-10 machine pistol. He and the other two ran back into the overrun town, avoiding the dead as much as possible. Bridgette and Miles decided to split from Shawn and go search for others on their own. The surfer and preteen suddenly ran into Chuck's group.

"Bridgette, what's going on?" asked Mike.

"Zeds, that's what. Come on!" she said. They turned to run, but a small group of zombies were advancing towards them from the direction where Bridgette and Miles had come from.

Bridgette cursed under her breath. "Okay, change of plan. This way!" She led the group down another street, and saw the main herd heading towards them.

"Oh fuck, we're outnumbered. What do we do?" asked Heather as she hugged Alejandro.

Scarlett looked around for an idea until she spotted a manhole in the center of them. "The sewer! Cooper, help me lift this," she declared. The bearded scientist helped Scarlett lift up the rusty piece of metal and dropped it to his side.

Scarlett looked at the zombies, and then at Cooper. "Well, Cooper, you wanted to get some practice in. Here's your chance," she said. Cooper observed all the zombies staggering towards them, and pulled out his 1911.

"Get down below," Cooper ordered and started shooting while Scarlett made herself scarce by climbing down. Cooper, along with Chuck and Bridgette, fended off the dead while everyone made it down below.

Alejandro helped Mike and Zoey down once they were deep in the sewer. "Thanks, Al!" Mike thanked, making the Latin twitch. The tanned teen realized what he said and took it back. "Sorry, I forgot-"

"No, no, it's fine. I actually think I'm over it now," Alejandro smiled.

Bridgette fired the last shots from her M4. "Get down below, Chuck," she offered.

"Ladies first," the cop gestured. Bridgette slung her battle rifle on her shoulder and with Chuck's help, started to descend into the manhole. Chuck holstered his Glock, but noticed Cooper had not budged. "Come on, doc!"

Cooper fired another shot, perfectly hitting a zombie in the eye. "No man, I'm getting good at this!" he reasoned, firing his final shot before switching to his pocket knife. However, before he could even stab one zombie, Chuck grabbed him by the back of his lab coat and tossed him down the manhole. Chuck climbed in the small space and pulled the manhole cover over his head, just as the dead swarmed the area.

* * *

"Sky! We gotta get everyone out of here!" shouted Tyler. He turned and shot a zombie that nearly grabbed him with his Beretta. Sky, Tyler, B, Harold, Connor, and Gwen were in the back of a small alley, with nothing behind them but a large brick wall.

"Yeah, but where are we gonna go?" asked Connor. "We're really in a pickle now!"

Gwen looked up at the sky and saw a small ladder dangling from a fire escape. "Up there!" she said. "Harold, hold them off while I get everyone up there!"

Harold threw his silenced sniper rifle to the ground once it ran dry and withdrew his katana from the sheath on his back. He struck a samurai pose. "Your numbers are impressive, but I shall defeat you!" he declared, slicing half of a zombie's head off before stabbing another one through the face.

Gwen got on one knee and cupped her hands. "You first Sky," she offered.

She boosted Sky up, and she successfully caught the lowest step of the ladder before ascending up the ladder. She then boosted Connor up second, Tyler third, and B fourth, but with great difficulty due to B's obesity. Sky helped pull Gwen up the ladder. "Come on Harold!" shouted Gwen.

The geek decapitated one last zombie before putting his katana away. "It has been an honor slicing your heads like melons," he said, bowing. He then jumped up grabbed ahold of the lowest bar, when a zombie grabbed his ankle, pulling him down just a bit. Harold struggled to kick the zombie away, but the zombie was too strong. Just when Harold thought it may be the end for him, Gwen aimed her Model 15 revolver at the zombie from above and blew its brains out.

The six made their way inside the building, where they discovered they were in an apartment kitchen. "Do any you have a radio or walkie-talkie?" asked Harold.

The five looked through their bags and checked their pockets. "Nope," said Gwen.

"Great, how the hell are we supposed to communicate with Shawn now?" said Tyler.

"We'll just have to head back for the edge of town. Hopefully, everyone else will be waiting for us," Sky reassured.

Unbeknownst to them, Jasmine's group ran past their apartment building.

"I'm out of ammunition!" said Amy, who turned to her sister. "Give me yours!"

"No, check your bag and see if there's any left in there!" Sammy argued back. Amy smacked her across the face.

"You beg my pardon?! When I tell you to do something, you do it! Now give me your ammo, goddammit!" she screamed.

"Oh come on ladies! Now is not the time to argue!" said Roger, who handed half a box of ammo to the evil twin. "Take these," he offered.

Amy took the small box. "Thank you, Roger. At least SOMEBODY'S willing to share!" Amy said, eying Sammy. Amy removed the empty magazine from her Beretta and started to refill it. She whispered to her sister, "Keep in mind, that my gun is now fully loaded, so try anything else and it's bye-bye for Samey!"

"Where do we go from here? The dead are all over the place!" said Cameron.

Cody looked around and saw a small furniture store down the block. "This way!" he said, rushing towards the outlet. The others followed closely behind, with the dead slowly behind. Once they reached the store, they realized to their misfortune that the door was not only locked, but also blocked with furniture.

"Shit, it's blocked!" said Sierra. Cody pushed her aside and blew the glass to bits with his AKM.

"Help me clear this," he said and pulled out a chair. It took the two about five minutes to clear the blocked door, but right in the middle of it all, Cameron froze up. He didn't want to take his chances with the horde that was closing in, and in a state of panic, took off down the street.

"Cameron! Where are you going?!" shouted Cody.

"Just let him go, kid. He's on his own," said Roger as Cameron turned a corner and vanished.

The remaining eight climbed through the now cleared doorway. Amy was the last one to climb through the door, but a zombie grabbed her boot, and she collapsed, taking her sister down with her.

"Let go of me!" Sammy protested, but Amy wouldn't budge.

"If I go down, you go down with me!" Amy shouted. The dead started to pull Amy outside, and she wouldn't let go of her sister's leg. Fearing what might happen next if she didn't do something, Sammy looked at her sister.

"I'm sorry," she said before kicking her sister in the eye with the heel of her free cheerleading boot. As expected, Amy, let go of her sister and the zombies dragged the screaming girl outside to her doom.

Jasmine helped her friend to her feet. The good twin looked up at her friend. "I had no choice….She would have taken me with her," she defended herself.

Jasmine gazed at Sammy for a moment. "I don't blame you. Let's just get out of here," she said, guiding Sammy through the dark store. While a few zombies were busy tearing Amy open, a few other zombies decided to start banging hard on the large windows, causing them to crack a bit. A muscular zombie smashed one of the windows with just one thrust of his fist, leading some of the undead into the store.

As Jasmine and Sammy wandered through the store trying to catch up with the others, a middle-aged woman tackled Sammy to the ground.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" screamed the woman, with a crazed, angry look on her face. Sammy once again struggled to break free, but this woman was much stronger than her skinny sister. "GET OUT! THIS IS MY PLACE! FIND YOUR OWN PLACE!" she screamed in her face. She wrapped her hands around the blonde's throat, but in the nick of time, Jasmine shot the woman in the head with her Mossberg 500 Cruiser shotgun.

Sammy hoisted herself up, covered in the woman's blood and with a shocked look on her pretty face. She was going to say something, but the sight of the staggering ghouls in the darkness stopped her. The others ran up to the two and immediately started to open fire.

"Guys! I found the exit!" Roger called from the back. The survivors retreated, but Chelsea ran into a table, injuring her side and sending her falling. The others looked back at the fallen woman.

"Go without me!" she told them. "Tell Roger I love him!" She fired her semi-automatic .22 rifle three more times before the dead zombies began their second course. Sierra used her Colt Python to put Chelsea out of her misery.

The group ran through the back exit, but Roger noticed that his girlfriend was missing. He looked at Sammy, to which she shook her head. "She wanted to say that she loved you," the good twin said.

"Did someone end her misery?" he asked.

"I did. I'm sorry, Rog," said Sierra. With sadness in his eyes, Roger nodded before slamming the door.

Shawn ran through the streets, sweat streaming down his face. He backed against a wall, and heard noises coming from around the corner. After a deep breath, he turned the corner and aimed his Chinese AK-47, only to discover Brick, Jo, Ryan, and Lightning in front of him.

"Jesus Christ Shawn! I was about to put a bullet in you!" said Brick.

"Thank goodness I found you. We've got a problem," Shawn said.

"Let me guess, more zombies?" said Jo.

"Yeah, we gotta head to the exit quickly. I told Scott that if I wasn't back in twenty minutes to start driving east. Have you seen Bridgette and Miles?" the shaggy teen said.

"We haven't. In fact, we haven't seen anyone else besides you," said Ryan.

Shawn sighed. "Let's just hope they weren't torn apart," he said, sprinting down the road, the other four trialing behind. They ran past the fence that surrounded the town, until Lightning stopped running.

"Hey guys, isn't this where the sha-fuckers came through?" he asked, pointing to a caved in part of the fence; the exact same one that Cody and Sierra had told Jasmine's group.

"Must be. Come on," said Shawn. He and the others ran through the opening and into the woods. Once they were a good distance from the town, Shawn reached into his pocket for his walkie-talkie, only to feel around an empty pocket.

"Oh God, don't tell me I lost it," Shawn said to himself.

"Lost what?" asked Ryan.

"My walkie-talkie. I must have lost it back in the town. Now I have no way of communicating with anyone else." Shawn kicked a tree.

Brick's face lit up with an idea. "You know, we were able to pick up some new radios when we were scavenging," the cadet said, handing Shawn a new radio. Before Shawn could test it out, the five heard some noises coming from the bushes, to which they all aimed their guns.

"Come on out!" said Jo, aiming her bolt action hunting rifle. Out of the bushes stepped out a young girl with her hands raised. She appeared to be around 12 or 13, with long brown hair and green eyes. She wore a grey shirt with the blue outline of a heart that took up most of the space on the front. She also wore a small wooden cross necklace, jean short-shorts, and brown T-strap sandals.

"Listen, I-I don't want any trouble," said the preteen.

Shawn and his friends lowered their weapons, but still kept their fingers on the trigger. "What's your name?" asked Shawn.

"My name is-"

"Hannah!" came another voice, this one much deeper. A man in his late teen or early twenties emerged from the trees and walked up to the girl. He wore a sleeveless white T-shirt, light blue jeans, and red Converse sneakers. He also had a shaved head and teal blue eyes. On his back was a large green hiking backpack, and he carried a semi-auto AR-15 with a sniper scope and silencer in his hands. The man got down on one knee. "How many times do I have to tell you, you can't run off like that," he lectured.

"I'm sorry, I just went to pee, and I saw one of those things, and I got scared," the girl named Hannah said.

The man, whom the group of teens thought he was her brother or somebody of the sort, hugged the girl. "I know, I'm just glad you're safe." He looked at Shawn and the others, and his face became frozen with shock. He released Hannah and stood up, staring at them.

Shawn stepped forward, his mouth formed into an O-shape just like everyone else. This guy…he looked and sounded familiar. If you imagined he had hair, the resemblance would be totally uncanny. Shawn got closer to the man.

"Duncan?"

 **DUNCAN'S BAAAAAAAAAAACK! And you guys thought I would write a zombie story without our favorite delinquent. Just a little head's up, the next few chapters will focus on Duncan's backstory (like how he escaped prison, how he found this young girl, etc.) I really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially introducing Duncan in that surprise ending.**

 **[1]: Mike's knife arm is reminiscent of Merle's bayonet arm from the Walking Dead.**

 **Important: If a character's name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. If they're in normal text, they're unknown. For those who are dead, they appear in reverse order of when they died (i.e. Staci was the first death, so she's last, then Justin is second-to-last, and so forth).**

 **Shawn's Group:**

 **Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Scarlett, Rodney, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, Lightning, B, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, Alejandro, Sierra, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Heather, Cody, Trent, Gwen, Noah, LeShawna, Tyler, DJ, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Nicole, Vince, Gareth,** Cameron, _Chelsea, Amy,_ _Chris,_ _Topher, Beardo, Dakota, Miguel,_ _Dawn,_ _Kenny, Ella,_ _Ezekiel,_ _Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's Group:**

 **Joshua, Miles, Ryan** _,_ **Cooper,** _Pete, Brian, Stephanie, Travis, Blake, Nathan, Tanner, Sal, Larry_

 **Duncan's Group:**

 **Duncan, Hannah**


	13. Who You Are

**As I stated in the previous chapter, this chapter and the next one will focus on Duncan and how he got to where he is now. God bless France.**

 **Previously on Surviving the Dead: After two months of living on the road, Shawn and the group clear out a nearby town before continuing to Toronto. Zoey reveals to Mike that she may be pregnant, which is later proven to be true. Thanks to a whole in the fence surrounding the town, a group of zombies invade, killing many members of the group and causing everyone to get separated. Bridgette, Miles, Scarlett, Cooper, Chuck, Mike, Zoey, Alejandro, and Heather flee into the sewer, Sky, Connor, Harold, B, Gwen, and Tyler take refuge in an apartment, Jasmine, Sammy, Roger, Cody, Sierra, and Courtney struggle to find a way out or hiding place, Scott, Chef, Joshua, Gareth, DJ, Vince, Eva, Nicole, Rodney, Sam, Izzy, Trent, and Noah wait outside the town for Shawn, and Shawn, Jo, Lightning, Brick, and Ryan flee the town and run into a young girl and a familiar old face…**

Duncan couldn't see anything; he had collapsed to the floor after the guards started to use flashbangs and tear gas.

" _We need more men!"_ he heard a guard faintly scream, followed immediately afterwards by several faint gunshots. Duncan's vision was still blurry, so all he could see at the moment were smoke and blurred figures all over the place. He could hear gunshots, screams, and orders from the guards, coinciding into a symphony of chaos.

Duncan blinked twice, and he could make out a figure limping towards him. The criminal blinked a third time, and his vision fully returned. He could now see that the staggering shape was an undead inmate.

"Shit!" shouted Duncan. The zombie let out a loud animalistic moan as it tried to reach down and grab him. Luckily, Duncan was able to roll over to his left, resulting in the zombie not getting enough time to grab him, and the zombie fell on its face. Duncan regained his balance and in one swift motion, stomped the zombie's skull in.

After spitting on the creature's body, Duncan looked around; a chaotic scene. The smoke was starting to clear up, and he could see inmates and zombies on the ground floor where he was at, and guards up on the catwalk, trying to control other inmates on the second floor.

Duncan looked to his side and saw a zombified guard chewing on a dead prisoner. He ran back into his cell and lifted up his mattress to reveal two small objects: his signature switchblade and lighter. He was able to pay a fellow inmate to steal them from the confiscated items, in exchange for a pack of cigarettes. Being an expert on zombies and horror in general, Duncan knew what had to be done.

He flipped open the blade, stuffed the lighter into his pocket, and ran out back into the madness. He paced over to the zombified guard and drove the knife into the back of its head. After throwing the dead guard to the ground, he bent down and stabbed the prisoner in the head to prevent reanimation.

He returned to his feet and saw a dead prison guard across the room, lying on his stomach. He also noticed the guard's Glock 19 was lying beside him. "I've gotta get that gun," Duncan said to himself. He quickly ran over to the guard, but was startled when an undead prisoner tried to grab him. Lucky for Duncan, this zombie was still locked in his cell, so Duncan just shrugged and grabbed the zombie by the shirt collar and pulled him to the cell door. In one swift motion, Duncan drove his knife through the zombie's eye, letting the corpse fall to the floor.

Duncan ran a few more feet before getting on his knees and picking up the guard's Glock. He removed the magazine, and to his benefit, it was still fully loaded. He uttered a quick prayer of thanks before taking the two spare magazines off the guard's body. At that moment, the punk spotted a large, bald inmate with a large shank must have spotted him with the gun and sprinted towards him. In an act of self-defense, Duncan shot the man in chest and the tower of a man came crashing down.

One of the guards above heard the gunshot and looked below. "Hey! That inmate's got a gun!" he cried. In another state of panic, Duncan aimed for the officer and killed him with a shot to the throat, causing his body to topple over the railing and fall to the ground below. He then shot the other three officers on the deck before making a B-line of the stairway. When he reached the top, a zombie with its legs incapacitated tried to grab his le, but Duncan just stomped its head in like the first one. After successfully avoiding the other inmates and guards, he reached the end of the main corridor.

Duncan kicked the door open, shooting two escaped inmates that were running towards him. He ran down the hall before taking a right at the end of the hall and opened the steel door to reveal another cell block, completely in chaos as his own. He didn't feel the need to say anything as he just shut the door back. He turned to leave, when two officers came around the corner, armed with M4A1s.

"Stop right there!" ordered the first guard, flipping the safety off his rifle. Duncan was quicker and gunned both of them down with just three shots. He picked up the first guard's M4, which was equipped with a red-dot sight, a tactical handguard, and grip.

"It's like this keeps getting better and better," Duncan smiled. He fled to another cell block, where the guards had been overpowered and the inmates were wreaking havoc. Duncan wanted to flee again, but simply said "Oh fuck it." and went in anyway. Duncan shot a prisoner that was in his path, before sliding down the stairway banister, firing the M4 in full auto like a badass. He saw an exit door not too far from him, but before he could head for it, a rather skinny inmate tackled him to the ground. Duncan dropped his M4, just inches from his reach. The inmate tried to get the gun, but Duncan managed to knee him in the groin and pushed him off of him.

Duncan picked up the M4 and attempted once again to run for the exit, but once he reached the door, he swore he could hear the soft whimpers of someone. He slowly turned to his left, and an inmate sitting against a wall: it was his friend Jackson.

Jackson was in his mid-twenties, with a sun tan, dark eyes, and blonde hair that was cut in a crew cut. He also had a tattoo of a dragon running down his left cheek. Jackson was one of the few inmates who would look after Duncan if he ever got himself into a situation that seemed impossible to get out of. Jackson was clasping his stomach; he had been stabbed by a fellow prisoner. The inmate looked at Duncan with pain and misery in his eyes, as if he was silently pleading for death.

Duncan raised his M4 and aimed at Jackson's head. "See you in Hell, Jackson," he whispered before pulling the trigger, ending his friend's suffering. Wasting no time, Duncan pushed the door open, stepping into the dark night. He couldn't see much, but he ducked behind a police cruiser when he saw a few officers dressed in riot gear running into the building where he had just exited, assault rifles at the ready.

Once they were out of sight, Duncan ran around to the driver's side and flung the door open. He quickly hooped into the driver's seat, tossing the M4 into passenger seat. "Let's hope this thing will run," he said to himself. He reached under the steering wheel and began to hotwire it. He was close to starting it, when a guard ran up to the window.

"Hey, get out of there!" he said. Duncan opened the door, knocking the officer to the ground. Duncan sparked the two wires, igniting the engine. Duncan smiled and threw the car into drive, speeding through the courtyard. The guard got up and aimed his Glock 19 at the car, unloading most of his bullets into the speeding police cruiser. One of the bullets managed to hit the rear left tire, but that didn't stop Duncan. He drove the cruiser to the front of the prison, and then smashed through the front gates to freedom, not looking back.

* * *

Tragically, Duncan didn't even get within fifteen miles from the prison, as he was forced to stop the car due to lack of gas. "Damn it," he griped, "Well, I guess I'm gonna have to walk from here. Ain't no way I'm gonna sleep in a car." He grabbed his M4 and checked the magazine, and saw it was empty. Duncan cursed; he was so full of adrenaline from trying to escape the prison that he didn't bother to ditch the rifle when it ran dry. Duncan shrugged and tossed the rifle into the police cruiser. He then went through the console and glove compartment to see if there was anything useful he could use. The only things he found were a pair of handcuffs and a small packet of cigarettes. The delinquent shoved the two items into his pockets, pulled his Glock 19 out of his jumpsuit, and continued down the leaf-covered road, ready for anything that may stumble into his path. While he walked, he began reflecting on how he got where he was.

The prison he was imprisoned in was deep within the forest, but not too far from Toronto. When the inmates and faculty first saw the reports, they decided that the best thing to do was to stay put, in hopes that they would be rescued by the military. However, after they heard that the capital had collapsed, hope of getting rescued slowly began to fade away for most of the inmates.

The warden issued an order that all staff members were forbidden to leave the facility, due to his fear that the inmates will try to take the prison for themselves. Despite many protests from the staff (especially the ones who had families), the warden threatened to shoot anyone on the spot if they tried to question his authority, because according to him, "If we quit now, everything goes to shit."

The prison was run like an autocracy for about three months, thanks to properly rationing food. However, a rebellion erupted that night, sending the entire prison into utter pandemonium. Even though the guards wanted to join the inmates in order to overthrow the warden, they still held onto the belief that they may indeed be rescued someday, so they fought against the prisoners. During the riot, several inmates had been killed, resulting in them reanimating and attacking both the officers and their fellow inmates alike. Also, given the size of the inmate population and the heat of the situation, this detail went rather unnoticed.

Duncan continued walking for another two hours, with the moon shining bright in the sky. In the distance, he could faintly make out shapes that looked like buildings, but again, it was difficult to decipher. When he reached the shapes, he realized that he had reached the suburbs. A stone and brick sign read, "Livingston Estates".

"Ugh, finally!" sighed Duncan in relief. He walked down the street, the middle class houses coming into better view. He made for a quick dash for the first house on the corner near the entry sign. With his Glock in one hand and his knife in the other (in a way similar to Call of Duty), Duncan tried to push the back door open, but it wouldn't budge. Deciding to check out the back, Duncan ran around the side of the house and pushed the screen door open, creaking like it did in a horror movie.

Duncan walked through the small living room, with the small kitchen to his right. He walked into the kitchen and sat his knife on the counter, before digging through one of the draws. He succeeded in finding a pocket-sized flashlight.

"This should come in handy," he whispered. He turned it on, and saw a folded newspaper on the countertop away from him. He picked up the newspaper and shined the light on the headline: **OTTAWA AND WASHINGTON FALL, WHEREABOUTS OF U.S. PRESIDENT UNKNOWN.** Duncan tossed the paper back on the counter and proceeded to walk towards the front of the house. He saw that the door was locked, and he slowly ascended up the carpet staircase. After inspecting a little girl's bedroom, a teenage boy's room, and the upstairs bathroom, the former prisoner waltzed back downstairs and entered the master bedroom. He shined his flashlight on the far wall where he saw it: a middle-aged man's corpse, sitting against the wall with his mouth agape and blood and a few pieces of brain splattered on the wall. Resting in the body's limp hand was a Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum revolver. Duncan walked up to the body.

"Damn…" was all he said. He looked at the revolver. He picked it up and checked the cylinder; no ammo. Duncan sighed before looked to his right and saw a little girl's body lying on its side, a bullet hole exiting from its forehead. "Motherfucker…" he whispered. He had seen some pretty sick stuff, but this was too real. Duncan brushed it off and removed his shoes and jumpsuit before flinging them on the floor. Now in just a white T-shirt and light blue boxers, Duncan put his knife, Glock, and flashlight on the nightstand and climbed into the comfy bed.

"Maybe now I'll actually get some sleep," he sighed, and he drifted off to sleep.

 _*The Next Morning*_

Duncan woke up the next morning, feeling refreshed. The sun had already risen and was shining brightly through the bedroom windows. He sat up and yawned. "Sheesh, morning already?" he asked himself as he stretched. He looked over at the wall clock; it was 10:56. He got out of bed and grudgingly walked to the closet and after cleaning it out, found a pair of light blue jeans and slipped them on. He then walked over to the dresser, and found a plain white sleeveless T-shirt.

He smelled it. "Aww, it's nice to where something that doesn't have any holes and doesn't smell of old cabbage," he smiled. After he slipped it on, he once again spotted the corpses of the father and daughter on the opposite side of the room. _'I may have to take care of those,'_ he thought.

He brought the two corpses out to the backyard, both wrapped up in bed sheets. He began digging graves for them, but only after three digs in, he noticed something in the house on the other side of the wooden fence. A female zombie was in an upstairs window, pounding on the glass. He didn't think much of this, and continued digging.

Once the two bodies had been buried, Duncan grabbed himself a snack cake from the pantry before heading out the front door to look for supplies. In the first three houses, he had found an army green hiking backpack, a flare gun, a trail hatchet, some dried foods, and best of all, a semi-auto AR-15 equipped with a sniper scope and silencer he had found in a closet.

Duncan marched down the street, heading to the fourth house when he stopped. He saw down the street that someone was being chased by three zombies. The girl tripped, falling to the pavement, scraping her kneecap. Duncan wanted to leave, but something prevented him from doing so. He slowly began walking towards the girl, flipping the safety off his AR-15. He aimed down the sniper scope and blasted all three zombies down in three perfect shots. The girl, who appeared to be around 12 or 13, got to her feet and stared at Duncan, who had turned around and started walking away without acknowledging the girl.

"Th-Thank you!...Hey! Mister, where are you going?" the girl called out, wincing a bit due to her scraped kneecap. Duncan didn't answer.

"Hey, stop!" she said again. No reply.

"Hey asshole!" she cursed. This caught Duncan's attention; did this kid just curse? He turned to face the girl and studied her appearance. She had long brown hair and green eyes. Her clothes consisted of a grey short-sleeved shirt with the blue outline of a heart that took up most of the space on the front, jean short-shorts, a wooden cross necklace around her neck, and brown T-strap sandals.

"What?" Duncan groaned.

"Aren't you gonna help me?" she asked, limping over to him.

"I just did. Now leave me alone," he said and he started to walk away again.

"You can't just leave me here, man. I need your help…do you have any bandages for this?" she asked, pointing to her bloody kneecap. Duncan sighed and removed his backpack, before digging around inside the bag for something to give the kid. He eventually found a small box of Band-Aids and tossed the box to the ground, landing at the girl's feet.

Duncan slung the green backpack back on his shoulder. "There, now take it and go. I have things to do." He turned his back to the girl and started to head towards the next house.

"Oh come on, sir. You saved my life, I feel like I owe you the favor. Plus, I have nowhere else to go and no one else to look after me. Please, take me with you," she said. Duncan turned to the girl…

…

…

…

…

"Ugh, fine. You can come, but try to keep up," he said. The girl's face lit up, she picked up the box of bandages, and quickly ran up to Duncan, walking beside him.

"What's your name?" she asked as they walked across a lawn to approach the next house.

"Duncan. You?" he asked.

"Hannah," she said.

Duncan pushed the front door open with the rifle silencer, creaking as it did so. "You got any weapons on ya?" he asked. The preteen shook her head. Duncan reached into his pocket and handed her his switchblade. "Use this."

The two entered the living room. The two stayed close together, taking note of the blood-stained carpet, which led into the wooden dining room. They saw a zombie on its knees, facing away from them, gnawing on a corpse. Duncan shot the zombie in the back of the head, and then shot the human corpse to prevent reanimation. "Have you killed much of those things?" he asked as they entered the kitchen.

"Not many; maybe like three or four. My parents…." She trailed off. Duncan turned to face the girl, who looked like she was about to cry. "My parents did most of the work, especially my dad….I don't wanna talk about it." Duncan shrugged and began to raid the walk-in pantry, tossing boxes and cans of food out as he did so.

Hannah wiped her eyes. "Seriously? Nothing?" she griped.

Duncan exited the pantry. "What? Am I supposed to say something?" he said.

"It would be nice!" she said with her arms crossed.

Duncan sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry for your loss, now let's check out the next house," he said without a second thought. Hannah couldn't believe this guy.

"You know, just because you have piercings and a Mohawk doesn't mean you have to be rude," she said as they exited the house.

"Will you pipe down already? It's starting to annoy me," he said annoyingly, turning to face her.

"Well, if I'm so annoying, than why the hell did you save me?"

"Watch it, dead weight," he warned.

Hannah was taken aback at his rudeness. "Wow, you're unbelievable, you know that?"

Duncan didn't respond and entered another house. He instantly shot another dead one before checking out the living room. With her back still turned Hannah failed to realize a zombie enetering through the front door. She turned to and screamed when it tried to grab her. It tackled her into a pile of laundry, and could not get to Duncan's knife. "Help!" she screamed.

Duncan rolled his eyes and pulled the creature off of her, slamming it's face through the television screen. Hannah brushed the clothes off of her.

"What the hell, kid? Jeez, you could have killed that one easy if you didn't have your head in the clouds. I can't always be there to save you," he lectured her.

"But yet you still did," she shot back. The rebel groaned walked into the kitchen. "You complain that I'm dead weight, and even though you didn't want to save me out of the kindness of your heart, you did."

"That wasn't out of kindness, that was just because a nice girl like you doesn't deserve to die. Although, I'm starting to regret it," he said.

"Aww, that's the probably the nicest thing you've said to me in the last five minutes," she said. However, she soon realized her caretaker's final statement and said, "Hey! Just who do you think you are? You show up, save me, behave like a douchebag, save me again, and just continue with the douching!"

"Well, that's just who I am, kid," said Duncan.

"No, I don't think that's who you are. I used to know a person like you. Her name was Angelina Smith; she was like you in many ways. Crazy hair, piercings, take-nothing-from-nobody attitude. But we all saw through her; she was just an insecure and scared girl who was afraid of what others may think of her. She would often display signs of kindness at certain times, but denied any real feelings. Is it like that with you?" Duncan stopped in his tracks again. He never admitted it, but he was just like that. As evidenced by his friendly attitude in Total Drama All-Stars, his true nice personality started to shine through the hard shell façade he displayed to everyone.

"You're an outsider; I can tell. And maybe you stick with it because it's the only thing you know best," she continued.

"Uh…That doesn't matter. Let's go," he said. _'Smart kid,'_ he thought.

* * *

Night came fast that evening, the coldness settling in. Duncan and Hannah were sitting next to each other in front of the fireplace back at Duncan's house, eating beans out of cans. They had succeeded in finding more items, including an aluminum baseball bat.

Hannah finished her can and set it on the floor. Her scraped kneecap was now covered up with two Band-Aids. "Where did you come from?" she asked Duncan.

Duncan paused and tried to think of an appropriate answer. A few seconds later, he responded with, "Toronto."

"I'm from there too! Were you from the safe-zone?" she asked.

"…Not exactly. But I thought I saw on the TV that the city was overrun," the delinquent said.

"It was; my family was there for only a week, and what you saw on TV was the report that the city had fallen," Hannah revealed. "We made it out, and we headed north from there. In fact…we had been living in this neighborhood for almost the entire time after that…until yesterday…" She trailed off again.

"Were they…eaten?" Duncan asked, placing his now-empty bean can on the floor.

Hannah gave a small nod, tears beginning to form in her eyes again. Without preamble, she pulled Duncan into a tight hug, crying into his shoulder. Duncan tried to break away, but Hannah had an iron grip for someone her age. Even though he didn't want to, Duncan slowly but surely wrapped his arms around the girl, shushing her.

"Shhhh….it's….it's all right," he tried to comfort her. Duncan was not a big fan of sharing emotions (unless it was with Courtney or Gwen), so trying to be sincere with this kid was a real challenge. During this, he pondered, _'If she's gonna stick around, might as well make the best of it.'_

Later that night, Hannah and Duncan were lying in bed. Hannah was already fast asleep, but Duncan was staring up at the ceiling. Many thoughts were rushing through his mind; he got out of bed and walked into the private bathroom and locked the door. He flipped his lighter on and lit a small candle. He stared at himself in the mirror, particularly at his Mohawk. The statements that Hannah said earlier echoed in his head: _'Just because you have piercings and a Mohawk doesn't mean you have to be rude.'_ and _'You stick with it because that's the only thing you know best.'_ over and over again. Duncan loved being punk; it was fun. But given the circumstances, maybe it was best to be practical. Besides, with the fall of the establishment, was was the point in being rebellious if there was nothing to rebel against? He reached into a drawer and found an electric razor, still not taking his eyes off of himself. He turned on the razor and started to shave off his Mohawk.

* * *

Hannah woke up to the sound of birds chirping. She sat up and stretched and saw Duncan packing his stuff up. A few things were different though; his head was shaved, his piercings were gone, and his goatee had been shaved off too. The only thing that was left was his dog collar, which he now kept in the side pocket of his backpack. "What happened to your hair?" she asked with a smile.

Her guardian shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe it wasn't that important," he said, smiling. Hannah giggled and got out of bed and slipped her bare feet into her T-strap sandals.

"Are we going scavenging again?" she asked.

Duncan shook his head. "Nope. We're getting' outta here, so get whatever you need," he said, chambering his AR-15. The two had a small breakfast before heading out the kitchen door and into the garage.

Hannah pulled out Duncan's knife and held it out for him to take. However, he shook his head, saying, "No, keep it. You need something to defend yourself." The two walked into the garage, where a classic motorcycle was parked. The two sped out the garage and out of the projects at high speed, kicking up leaves and other loose things on the ground as they left.

They sped down the road for two hours, coming across the police cruiser that Duncan had abandoned two nights ago. Duncan pulled the motorcycle over and threw down the kickstand. "Why are we stopping?" Hannah asked.

"I gotta take a pi-I mean whiz," he said, narrowly avoiding cursing in front of her.

Hannah let out a small laugh. "I don't care if you curse. Just don't be long," she said. Duncan grabbed his AR-15 and walked into the woods. He picked a nice spot and sat the rifle against the tree beside him. He unzipped his jeans and did his business, but once he was done zipping his pants back up, he heard the cocking of a rifle behind him.

"Don't move," a male voice ordered. Duncan's initial response was to raise his hands, which he did. "Turn around," the voice said. Duncan slowly span around, and got a glimpse of the man. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with a dirty Asian face, short black hair that was spikey in the front, a few hairs on his chin, and dark eyes. He wore a faded light green shirt with long cream-colored sleeves and a large blue "Power" symbol on the chest, as well as blue jeans and black sneakers. He also appeared to have what appeared to be some kind of string tied around his neck. He currently aiming some kind of wooden hunting rifle at him.

"Look buddy, I don't have time for this," Duncan said. The stranger got closer to Duncan, put the cold barrel to his forehead.

"I don't give a shit, asshole. Give me everything you got, NOW!" he ordered. Duncan threw his Glock, two spare magazines, box of ammo, and a half-melted chocolate bar to the ground. During this time, the stranger kept muttering, "Can't go back, can't go back." repeatedly.

"Are you shittin' me? That's all you have?" the stranger said.

"Yes, that's all I got, man," the criminal replied.

"You're a liar. I know you have more stuff on you. You know what? I just may have to kill you just to get whatever's left on-" There was a loud " _WHACK!"_ and the Asian man fell to the ground, unconscious. Hannah stood over the man with the baseball bat that she and Duncan had found the day earlier.

"Wow, thanks," he thanked her.

She shrugged. "Just think of it as payback for saving me," she smiled. Duncan smiled back and soon thought of an idea.

"Go back to the bike and look in the side pocket of my pack. There should be some handcuffs; bring them to me," he said. The preteen ran out of sight, while Duncan picked up the hunting rifle the man dropped; it was a pre-1964 Winchester Model 70.

He observed the small triangular front sight. "The sight's a bit damaged, but that's not a big issue," he said to himself. He inspected the chamber; only two bullets left. Duncan picked up his Glock and waited for Hannah to return, staring at the knocked out man.

 **Important: If a character's name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. If they're in normal text, they're unknown. For those who are dead, they appear in reverse order of when they died (i.e. Staci was the first death, so she's last, then Justin is second-to-last, and so forth).**

 **Shawn's Group:**

 **Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Scarlett, Rodney, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, B, Lightning, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, DJ, Tyler, LeShawna, Eva, Noah, Trent, Gwen, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Cody, Sierra, Alejandro, Heather, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Nicole, Vince, Gareth,** Cameron, _Chelsea, Amy, Chris, Topher, Beardo, Dakota, Miguel, Dawn, Kenny, Ella, Ezekiel, Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's Group:**

 **Joshua, Miles, Ryan, Cooper** _, Pete, Brian, Stephanie, Travis, Blake, Nathan, Tanner, Sal, Larry_

 **Duncan's Group:**

 **Duncan, Hannah**


	14. Terror in the Moonlight

**This is part two of Duncan's backstory. In case I don't post a new chapter before the twenty-fifth, I wish y'all a safe and merry Christmas!**

 **Previously, on Surviving the Dead: In a flashback, Duncan narrowly escapes prison as order collapses, and makes it to the suburbs. After a night of rest, Duncan encounters a girl named Hannah, and she ultimately changes Duncan (something he never he'd do). When they leave the suburbs, a seemingly dangerous stranger threatens Duncan, but is knocked out by Hannah. Now, the duo waits for the mysterious man to wake up…**

The Asian man slowly opened his eyes, his vision still blurry. He heard a distorted voice say, _"Wakin' up?...That's good…."_ He could see clearly now, and he could see Duncan squatting in front of him, Glock 19 in hand. "Here's what's gonna happen, Jap," he said, flipping the safety off the pistol and aiming it at him. "You answer all my questions, and maybe, just maybe, I won't kill you," Duncan threatened.

The man stared into the barrel of the pistol. "I'm Thai; big difference," he said, earning him a slap across the face.

"Do I look like I give a rat's ass?" Duncan asked. The man tried to get up to attack his captor, but noticed that he was handcuffed, so he stayed put. "Now then, what's your name?"

The man didn't answer, instead muttering "Can't go back, can't go back."

Duncan inched closer to the man's face. "I'm gonna ask you again, what's your name?" he said.

The man stared at Duncan with a blank expression. "….Devin….Devin Wang," he said. **[1]**

Duncan nodded in understanding. "I'm Duncan, and that's Hannah," he said, pointing behind him. Hannah gave a small wave.

"Can't go back, can't go back, can't go back," Devin kept muttering.

"What does that mean, Devin?" Duncan asked. Devin didn't answer; instead, he just kept muttering. Duncan fired his Glock into the air, startling both Devin and Hannah. "What does that mean?!" he repeated.

Even though he was still handcuffed, Devin grabbed Duncan's pistol and put it to his forehead. Devin began to sob. "Please…kill me. Please….KILL ME!" he screamed, tears streaking down his dirty face.

"W-What? Why?" Duncan asked, his finger still on the trigger.

"I can't go back, don't you see?! I CAN'T GO BACK!" he screamed again.

"He's starting to scare me, Duncan," Hannah squeaked.

The delinquent wrestled the gun from Devin's hands and put the pistol in the back of his pants. "Go back to what?" he asked, growing impatient.

Devin sniffled. "I can't go back….to who I was before," he wept. Duncan and Hannah stared in utter confusion. "During the climax of the outbreak, my girlfriend Shelly and I were trying to take a flight out of Ottawa, which was heading for Toronto….B-Before we boarded, they made sure that none of the passengers were bitten, but they missed one…it was a kid….He died after only ten minutes in the air, came back, and…Things just…deteriorated." He paused to wipe the tears from his eyes. "The pilot lost control of the plane and crashed into the forest…Shelly and I were the only ones that made out alive. We spent the next thirteen days, alone…food became scarce rather quickly, and we had little luck killing any wild animals…One night, we didn't catch a single thing that day and we were both sooo hungry…."

He began to weep again, barely able to speak by this point. "W-When sh-sh-she wasn't looking…. I killed her, I amputated her arm, and I ATE IT!" he screamed, making Duncan step back a bit. Devin wiped more tears from his eyes. "But do you know what the sickest part of that is?"

Duncan shook his head. "No, what?"

"After I cooked her arm and ate it, an owl got caught in one of our traps," he said in between sniffles. "I-If I had waited j-just a little while longer…SHE WOULD BE ALIVE!" He broke into yet another hysterical fit, this time falling on his side. Duncan turned to Hannah, who just shrugged.

"I didn't want to," said Devin, who was now in a fetal position. "She was so pretty….but I was so hungry!...For the past few months, it's just been me, often killing anyone I came across and taking what they had…..." He locked eyes with Duncan. "I wanted to kill myself after what happened that night, but I couldn't do it. Because I saw that it was necessary to survive….But now that I look back, I should've just shot myself so I wouldn't have to live with this….so please, kill me."

Duncan stared at the Asian, stunned; no wonder this guy was nuts. Duncan helped Devin sit back up and against the tree. "Look Devin, I know you're in pain…..You've done things you regret, I get it. Trust me, I've done things I don't like to think about, but…I found my way back. Because that wasn't who I was, so I embraced the true me and now I feel better about myself. And I firmly believe that if someone like me can change, then someone such as yourself can come back from the dark side of the human soul…or something like that," he explained. "Can I trust you if I take those off of you?" he asked, pointing to Devin's handcuffs.

Devin stared at his lap, and then looked Duncan in the eye before nodding slowly. Duncan returned a nod and reached into his pocket to retrieve the keys. He uncuffed Devin and the Asian got to his feet, rubbing his wrists.

"D-Do you have a camp?" Devin asked.

"No," said Duncan. He turned to look at Hannah. "But we-" Devin knocked Duncan in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle and ran for the road, pushing Hannah to the ground. Slinging the rifle on his back, the Asian started up the bike.

"Sorry!" he shouted before speeding away. A dazed Duncan helped Hannah to her feet. He let her climb on his back.

"Ride like the wind, bull's-eye!" Hannah declared, and Duncan took off down the road. Devin was gaining speed and getting farther with each passing second. Duncan fired his AR at Devin while Hannah used his handgun. Duncan had better luck, managing to hit the license plate, then stock of his rifle, and then finally striking Devin in the shoulder. He lost control and crashed on the pavement, scraping his face. The two caught up to him, the latter not moving and groaning in pain. Duncan let Hannah off of him and rolled Devin over. He punched him twice before saying, "Do you have any idea who you're screwing with?" he said. He withdrew his switchblade and held it to Devin's throat.

"Duncan, stop. You can't," Hannah protested.

"I can, and I will," he responded.

"Please, can't we just let him go? Where's your compassion?" Duncan looked back at her with a rather stupid look.

"He holds me at gunpoint, knocks me in the back of the head, and then tries to escape? We can't let him go," he said. "And besides, the only times I show my compassion is when I feel like it, which is quite rare."

"Wait!" Devin protested. "I'm sorry, all right? I'm desperate! I needed your stuff, but please, give me another chance!" he protested.

"Was all that stuff you said earlier a lie?" Duncan questioned.

"No, it's the cold, sad truth." Duncan hesitated but slowly removed the blade from his neck. Devin slowly got to his feet.

"Thank you," he said, rubbing the scraped part of his face. "Listen, I know it may seem like you cannot and will not trust me, but I'm a good guy. Please, let me come with you. After, anyone can come back, right?" He eyed Duncan, referencing his earlier speech.

Duncan shrugged after a moment. "Meh, okay. We're gonna head to the nearest town according to our map. We're gonna avoid the main road and try to take a forest detour to avoid any potential threats," he said, picking up his motorcycle. The trio walked back into the woods when they noticed a small herd ahead.

"Let's see if we can go around them," said Duncan, rolling his motorcycle into the woods, Devin and Hannah following close behind.

The trio heard some growling in the distance ahead of them, when they realized that some of the zombies that they spotted down the road had broken away from the main group and were heading towards them from the left.

"Should we head the other direction?" asked Devin.

"No, because by that point, those things will be back where we were. Let's just keep going ahead; if we pick up the pace, we may be able to avoid them," said Duncan. He rolled his motorcycle through some low hanging branches, when he saw a zombie right in front of him.

In a state of panic, Duncan withdrew his Glock and shot it dead, grabbing the attention of the other roamers.

"Ah shit, hurry!" he said. Duncan started up his motorcycle, but not before zombie grabbed him by arm and nearly bit him until he kicked it to the ground. He got the bike going and sped through the forest, narrowly avoiding the undead around him. Devin and Hannah ran after him through the zombie-infested forest, when a zombie grabbed Hannah and when the creature was about to bite her arm, when Devin shot it with his rifle before picking her up and running after Duncan.

"Slow down, man!" Devin shouted. Duncan slowed down to allow Devin to hop on the back while Hannah clung to Devin's back for dear life like a sloth. Another roamer attempted to bit Duncan's arm when he wasn't looking, but he quickly shot that one dead just as well. They rolled down a small hill, screaming all the way down. They soon reached level ground, until they noticed a small pit up ahead. Duncan picked up speed.

"Uh, Duncan, what are you doing?" asked Devin.

"Hold onto your hats!" Duncan yelled, a large smile spread across his face. He sped up full speed until the speedometer cracked from going so fast. The motorcycle kicked up lots of leaves until it went over the edge, sending the three airborne. Devin and Hannah screamed in terror until…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…the motorcycle landed hard on its wheels when it landed on the other side of the ravine. Hannah looked behind her to see zombies blindly falling over the edge of the ravine on the other side.

Devin opened his eyes. "Okay, don't EVER do that again!" he chastised Duncan.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad," Duncan smirked as they sped away.

* * *

The three rode until dusk, and started to walk from that moment on. With hardly any leaves sheltering them from the moonlight, the spikey trees gave an eerie feeling. In the distance, the howling of wolves could be heard.

Hannah grabbed onto Duncan's arm. "Relax, they're just wolves," he reassured her, making her smile.

"Are you two siblings?" Devin asked.

Duncan let out a small chuckle. "Nah, I found her only yesterday," Duncan replied.

"Oh. Any chance you got any jackets in your pack? It's getting a bit chilly," Devin said, shivering.

"Uh, yeah, check the back," the delinquent said. Devin slung his Winchester Model 70 on his back and unzipped Duncan's green hiking backpack and pulled out a light grey jacket. "You know, it's so cold it reminds me of the time Shelly locked me out of the car for getting her the wrong kind of tea," he said.

"Really?" asked Hannah.

Devin nodded. "Yeah, I got frostbite and nearly lost three of toes because of it. But on the bright side, at least now I know the symptoms of frostbite!"

"Hey, get that black jacket for me too," Duncan said. Devin handed him a black jacket, and zipped his backpack back up.

"We may have to make camp here for the night, cause I'm not dragging this thing all night," said Duncan, referring to his motorcycle.

"Here's a good spot," said Hannah, stopping in a small clearing that was illuminated by the moonlight.

"Cool. Devin, stay here with Hannah while I go find some firewood," Duncan said, removing his AR-15 from his shoulder and walking off. Devin set his hunting rifle against a tree and he and Hannah began bringing rocks together to form a fire pit.

"I'm sorry about your girlfriend," Hannah said as they finished making the circular pit.

"It's fine," he said. "But to be honest, she wasn't the greatest girlfriend in the world. She and I hardly went a day without arguing over the stupidest of stuff, so even though I cared for her, I found her to be annoying at times. One time, she and I nearly broke up because she couldn't decide where to eat for dinner."

"Wow," said Hannah. "What was she like?"

"Blonde, fair-skinned, deep blue eyes, small, but well-built frame, and the like," he said. His smile faded. "But do know how we ran out of food so quickly?" Hannah shook her head.

"She kept eating all of it, that's how. Despite me telling her that we need to conserve as much as possible, as well as keep some for myself, she just wouldn't listen. Which, now that I think about it, is another way that her death could have been avoided," Devin explained. He looked around. "Gosh, what is taking Duncan so long?"

"Who knows; maybe he got lost or something," Hannah shrugged.

The two heard a twig snap, and they turned to see three strangers emerge from the darkness. They all wore faded and dirty clothing, and one with short black hair had his button down unbuttoned, exposing his hairy beer gut.

"Gooood evening, folks," said the first man, who had shaggy brown hair and was aiming a rusty Colt 1911.

Devin looked and saw that the one with the hairy beer gut was now aiming his Winchester Model 70 at them. _'Damn, I knew I should've just kept it with me,'_ he thought.

"It's a sure good thing we found ya. We was getting pretty lonely," said the second man with a thick redneck accent, smiling and revealing his two front teeth were missing. He was only armed with a homemade shank that appeared to be fashioned out of a large screw to act as the blade and duct tape to act as the grip. He also had a whiskers all over his face.

"Look, we don't want any trouble, so how about you just go away," said Devin.

The beer gutted man fired Devin's rifle at his feet, startling him. "Shut your trap, pretty boy!" he snapped.

"Now, now Ralph, let's not be hostile. That's no way to talk to our new friends," said their leader, wiggling his finger in disapproval. He then turned to Devin and Hannah. "Where are you folks from?"

The Asian and preteen girl looked at each other, unsure if they should say anything. "Ottawa," Devin said.

The leader nodded. "Hm, interesting. Are, uh, you two alone?" he asked.

"Look here, m-mister, we know what you're planning on doing. S-So it'd be best if you get lost," said Hannah bravely, but not without stammering a little.

The leader's small smile quickly faded. "Well, I was hoping we could have done this the easy way, but now you leave us no choice. Ralph, grab the Asian, David get the kid!" The two dirty goons lunged towards the two with no hesitation. Ralph grabbed Devin and flung him against a tree, pressing the barrel of the rifle against his head. Hannah tried to run, but David was much faster and tackled her to the ground.

"Get 'er shirt off!" said the leader. Although she fought hard against David's grip, Hannah was still too weak and the thug slipped her shirt off, exposing her blue bra. "Now them short-shorts!" David started to unbutton Hannah jean short-shorts, but stopped when he remembered he had to remove the shoes first. Once those were disposed of, the pants came off soon after, leaving her half-naked.

"Now then, let's get down to business, shall we?" the man said. David held Hannah down while Devin was forced to watch.

The man was about remove her panties, when a muffled gunshot was heard, and Ralph dropped Devin's rifle and fell to his side, a bullet hole exiting from his forehead. Before David could react, another muffled gunshot rang out, and David fell back, his temple oozing blood. Hannah pushed David's limp arms off of her and backed away from his corpse.

The leader withdrew his rusty 1911 and aimed into darkness. "Who's there?" he called out. No response. "Look, I don't know who you think you are, but you're fuckin' with the wrong-" A third muffled gunshot was heard, and the man dropped to his knees while screaming in agony, dropping his gun and grasping his now bleeding crotch.

Devin and Hannah turned to wear the bullets came from, and Duncan slowly emerged from behind a tree, aiming his silenced AR. "Devin, get away," he said, not taking his eyes off of the dirty man on the ground. Devin picked up his rifle and ran to Hannah, sitting down beside her.

"Sit up…SIT UP!" Duncan ordered. The writhing man whimpered in pain, but eventually sat up in a kneeling position. He stared up at Duncan.

"Well….hello," he faked a smile.

"…. _Hello_ ," Duncan mocked him.

"Listen man, I wasn't doin' nothin'. We was just getting' to know yer friends here, hehe," the man chuckled with fear in his voice.

Duncan didn't say anything for a while, until he said, "You know, I've had a real shitty day today. I had a gun pointed at my head, I nearly got bit twice by two of those things, and now I see that you and your buddies tried to rape my friend and you're lying about it?"

The man remained silent, knowing deep down that there was no way of getting out of this one. "Look man, if you're gonna shoot me, why don't you just do it already?" he asked.

Duncan smirked and let out an almost silent chuckle. "No," he said, his smirk vanishing. He flipped the rifle on safety mode. "For someone like you…shooting you would just be too…damn…merciful." Duncan swiftly flipped the gun upside down and hit the rapist in the nose with the buttstock when he man screamed "NO!". The man screamed for mercy, but Duncan delivered another blow to the man's face. While Duncan proceeded to bash the poor, pleading man's head in, Hannah, who was still in her underwear, clung to Devin and while he rubbed her hair and tried to shush her. Both of them did not take their eyes off of Duncan, who kept smashing the man's head in, even long after there was nothing else left to smash…

* * *

Duncan was the first to wake up, remembering that he had fallen asleep while hugging his AR-15. He looked down at the extended stock and saw the butt was now a dark red from the previous night. He looked around the clearing. He and the others had wrapped rope around the trees that surrounded the very small clearing and they had tied empty cans filled with small pebbles to the rope. This was done to alert them if a zombie happened to stumbled upon them. Duncan looked at his companions; Devin was sleeping against the motorcycle, his Winchester Model 70 in his lap. Hannah slept beside him on the ground, a light blue blanket over her body and her using Duncan's backpack as a pillow.

' _She looks so peaceful,'_ Duncan thought with a smile. He then looked over to Devin. _'I wonder if I can really trust him. Well, he did save Hannah the other day, so I guess he's not all bad. But still, he killed his girlfriend for food and he tried to pull a total bitch-move. At least he regrets it.'_

Duncan got to his feet and stretched. He walked to Devin and shook him awake. "Wake up, Dev," he said.

Devin groggily opened his eyes. "Oh, morning," he said, yawning.

Duncan sat in front of him Devin. "Listen, I just wanna say thanks for saving Hannah the other day. When we were running from them, I mean," the delinquent said.

"No problem," the Asian said. "But I didn't save Hannah just because she was in trouble…..I did it for me. I want to prove to you that I'm good. And I want to prove that to myself; if I had kept my gun with me last night, I could've stopped those rapists before they even put their hands on her. If you hadn't shown up in the nick of time…I'm very sure both me and Hannah would be dead…..I owe you for that, Duncan."

Like Devin, Duncan was smiling. He hoisted himself up off the ground. "I'm gonna wake Hannah up; the town shouldn't be too far from here," he said.

* * *

The three didn't have any breakfast so they immediately started navigating through the woods until around noon when they stopped for a bathroom break and lunch. Duncan removed his light grey jacket and put it on the seat of his motorcycle. "How good are you with that?" Duncan asked Devin, pointing to the hunting rifle slung on his shoulder.

"I'm fair; you know, not too horrible but not too great either. But I'll be honest, I haven't had to fire this thing in a while. I mainly just used this to threaten people," Devin said before taking a bite out of a Swiss Roll. Like Duncan, Devin had also removed his jacket, but he kept his wrapped around his waist. The two looked up at the sky when they heard what sounded like gunshots in the distance.

"Are those gunshots?" Devin asked.

"I think so; we'll check that out later…" Duncan trailed off and looked around, and began to panic. "Oh no, where's Hannah?" he asked.

"I think she may have gone to use the bathroom," Devin reasoned.

Duncan, now more worried, cocked his AR-15. "Stay here; I'm gonna go look for her," he ordered. Devin gave a thumbs up and watched as Duncan ran off.

Somewhere in another part of the woods, Hannah zipped her pants back up after taking a whiz. "Aw, that's better," she said with a relief. She could hear the faint echo of gunfire in the distance, but she didn't question it as she soon heard faint growling behind her. She turned to see a lone zombie with a machete jammed into its stomach.

Hannah turned to run, but saw another zombie, this one almost her height, lunging for her. She dodged the zombie and kicked it in the knee, breaking it and sending the rotter to the ground. She looked at the other zombie and tried to push the monster away from her. She grabbed the handle of the machete and attempted to pull it out of the zombie's abdomen.

"Come on, come on, come on," she said to herself over and over. After some effort, she withdrew the machete. She stepped back some before swinging at the zombie's head. However, due to her poor upper body strength, she able to strike it in the side of the head, but the blade did not go deep enough to penetrate the brain. Hannah feel to the ground after she swung, taking the zombie down with her. She removed the machete from the side of the zombie's head and in one swift movement, brought the weapon down on the zombie's skull, killing it for good. She then walked over to the other zombie on the ground and with both hands, drove the tip of the blade into the back of its head.

She stood between the two zombies, breathing heavily. "Holy crap," she said out loud, dropping her machete. She was too shaken up to pick up the machete and wandered away from the sight. She soon spotted yet another zombie staggering in her direction, but decided to not take her chances with this one and ran off. She soon ducked behind a bush to hide form the roamer as the gunfire seemed to be somewhat closer now. She waited until the zombie passed by without noticing her and attempted to get up, but the back of her collar got caught on some thorns. She struggled to get herself unhinged, which made the entire bush rustle.

"Come on out!" a deep female voice shouted. Hannah's blood ran cold; was some calling out to her? She unhinged herself and emerged from the bush with her hands raised. She saw five people who all appeared to be in their teens or twenties, all of them armed with high-powered weapons.

"Listen, I-I don't want any trouble," the girl said.

The group lowered their weapons, much to Hannah's relief. "What's your name?" asked a teen wearing an orange vest and holding an AK.

"My name is-" she started to say when she was interrupted.

"Hannah!" called a voice from behind. She turned to see Duncan walking up to her, much to her relief. Duncan got down on one knee. "How many times do I have to tell you, you can't run off like that," Duncan told her.

She looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, I just went to pee, and I saw one of those things, and I got scared," she said.

Duncan smiled and hugged her tightly. "I know, I'm just glad you're safe." He said, as he soon directed his eyes to the five survivors.

 **[1]: In case you haven't figured it out from the end of the previous chapter, this is Devin from the Ridonculous Race.**

 **Important: If a character's name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. If they're in normal text, they're unknown. For those who are dead, they appear in reverse order of when they died (i.e. Staci was the first death, so she's last, then Justin is second-to-last, and so forth).**

 **Shawn's Group:**

 **Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Scarlett, Rodney, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, B, Lightning, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, DJ, Tyler, LeShawna, Eva, Noah, Trent, Gwen, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Cody, Sierra, Alejandro, Heather, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Nicole, Vince,** Cameron, _Chelsea, Amy, Chris, Topher, Beardo, Dakota, Miguel, Dawn, Kenny, Ella, Ezekiel, Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's Group:**

 **Gareth, Joshua, Miles, Ryan, Cooper** _, Pete, Brian, Stephanie, Travis, Blake, Nathan, Tanner, Sal, Larry_

 **Duncan's Group:**

 **Duncan, Hannah, Devin**


	15. Reunion

**Hey guys! Happy New Year! I hope everyone's had a great holiday season and I hope yours wasn't filled with rain and tornadoes as mine was. Anyway, we're back with the newest chapter featuring Shawn and the gang. Enjoy!**

 **Previously on Surviving the Dead: Duncan interrogates the stranger, who identifies himself as Devin. Devin then reveals his tragic backstory: the plane he and his girlfriend Shelly were taking crashed, and after a while with no food, Devin killed her and cannibalized her arm. Devin begs for death, but Duncan spares him and allows Devin to accompany him and Hannah to the nearest town. Later that night, after escaping from zombies, the group is ambushed by a group of rapists, but they are soon dispatched by Duncan. The next day, Duncan and Hannah encounter Shawn and a few of his people….**

Shawn and Duncan continued to stare at each other in shock and disbelief. "Is it really you?" Shawn asked.

Duncan nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Wow…I thought I would never see you bastards again," he said. "I thought you fellas were filming the next season of Total Drama out in the west?"

"We did, but we were attacked when we wrapped up the season. We learned that the outbreak happened while we were away. I'll be honest, I still can't believe that we put so much effort into that new season only to discover that we just broadcasting on dead air," Shawn explained.

"Duncan, do you know these people?" asked Hannah.

Duncan totally forgot that Hannah was there and put his hand around her. "Hannah, this is Shawn, Jo, Brick, Lightning, and I'm sorry, who are you?" he introduced them before pointing to Ryan.

"Name's Ryan," he said, resting his eight-shot Remington on his shoulder.

"Oh," Duncan nodded while looking around. "Where's everybody else?"

"We were clearing out a small town back that way, but we ran into some zombies, so a bunch of us got separated," Brick piped up.

"But some actually made it out, and I told them to head east if I wasn't back in twenty. I reckon they're probably on the road as we speak," said Shawn, rubbing his small beard.

"Should we try to find them?" asked Hannah.

"Yeah, we need to get Devin and go. Follow us," he said. The seven ran through the woods, eventually running past the two zombies Hannah killed earlier. When they passed by them, Hannah picked up the machete that she didn't bother to pick up earlier. They eventually ran up to Devin and Duncan's motorcycle.

"There you are guys- Oh, who are these-?" Devin started to ask.

"No time to explain," said Duncan as he started the motorcycle. Duncan rode slowly so the others could follow, until they exited the forest and came to the main road.

"Shawn, I think I can see them up ahead," Ryan pointed ahead. Shawn turned in the direction he was pointing, and he could definitely see a bus driving away from them in the distance.

"How do we get their attention?" asked Devin. Brick pointed his M16 at the sky and emptied his entire magazine. They could barely see the bus ahead pull to a halt at the sound of the gunfire. Some people exited the bus, so Shawn, Jo, and Brick began waving their arms to get their attention. The bus soon began driving in reverse and they also could see Scott's monster truck with them.

When the bus and monster truck reached them, Nicole, Sam, and LeShawna exited the bus. "Thank God you guys are okay, but where's everyone else?" asked LeShawna.

"Nobody else made it out?" asked Shawn.

"As far as we know," said Sam. He noticed Duncan and his friends. "Wait….Duncan? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me gamer boy," he said with a smirk.

"Holy cow, boy. I thought for a long time that you were dead!" LeShawna lightly punched the punk in the arm.

"Oh also, this is Hannah and Devin," Duncan gestured to his companions.

Chef, Courtney, and Joshua came walking up to the group. "Where's my brother?" asked Joshua.

"He went off with Bridgette, but I haven't seen him since. But I'm sure he's fine," Shawn assured the shaggy teen.

"Wait, what's that little punk doing here?" asked Chef, pointing to Duncan.

"It's a long story," Duncan simply said.

"Listen guys, I'm gonna try to get into contact with anyone else," said Shawn, walking off with his radio.

* * *

Connor was looking out the window of the apartment. The street below was swarming with the dead. "Anybody got any ideas?" he asked.

Gwen, Tyler, Sky, and Harold shrugged or shook their heads. The five heard a whistle from the other side of the living room. B was standing near the window, where he reached into his coat and pulled out a thick rope and two grappling hooks. He then pointed out the window at something. The five walked over and saw that B was pointing to another window that was on another building that was on the other side of an alleyway that was teeming with zombies.

"Hey, good idea B! We can use this rope and grappling hooks to scale across to the other building," said Harold.

"Yeah, but one question, how are we gonna get that window open?" asked Tyler. Harold aimed his Five Seven handgun at the other window and shattered the glass with one bullet. "Oh, hehe," Tyler chuckled sheepishly.

"Not that I don't think this isn't a good idea, but this solves nothing," said Gwen. "Even if we all make it across, we'll just be trapped in another building with too many dead ones to deal with."

"Maybe so, but we can't simply exit through the front door; we don't have enough ammunition," said Sky. "I think it's best if we stick to B's plan."

"Sky's right," Connor agreed. "I'm down to the last six bullets for my rifle."

"Yeah, besides, the zombies seem to be leading away from us, so it only seems logical to go through with B's idea," Harold said.

Feeling outnumbered, Gwen sighed. "Okay, I guess it's better than wasting all our ammo for nothing," she said.

B attached the grappling hooks to the ends of the rope and tossed one end to the window on the other side. He then gave a thumbs up.

"Okay, it looks secure," said Harold.

"Cool, who's going first?" asked Connor. He looked at his friends, only to see that they all were touching their noses, signifying that they weren't "it". "Wait, I have to go first?" he asked, shocked.

"You betcha! Now get out there!" said Gwen, almost pushing Connor out the window. Connor huffed before slinging his lever action rifle on his back and climbing out the window. Reluctantly, Connor began scaling across the rope, his legs dangling helplessly.

He looked down and saw the zombies down below. "Oh God, oh God, oh God," he said out loud.

"It's all right, Connor. Don't let go!" Tyler encouraged.

Connor gave Tyler a stern look. "Why the FUCK would I let go?!" he shouted. "Seriously, I don't think I can do this."

"Just pretend you're climbing monkey bars, only without the zombies seven feet below you!" said Sky.

Connor closed his eyes and began breathing heavily as he made his way to the other side. After about four minutes, he made it to the other side, climbing through the window. "All right, who's next?" he shouted.

One by one, the others began climbing across the rope until safely reaching the other side, until Tyler and B were left.

When Tyler started to climb across, B decided that he should go. However, he failed to notice that when he started scaling the rope while Tyler was still scaling it, the combined weight caused the grappling hook to loosen its grip on the windowsill.

Just when the two teens were halfway across…

 _SNAP!_

The grappling hook slipped from the windowsill, sending the two men swinging on the rope like a vine until they hit the opposite brick wall. B hit his shoulder, while Tyler struck the wall with his face.

"Oh shit, are you guys okay?" asked Sky. B gave a thumbs up, but Tyler did not answer. "Tyler? You okay?" Sky asked again.

Tyler looked up, revealing a few scrapes and a dazed expression on his face. He was smiling, revealing a chipped front tooth. "Why is a turquoise monkey wearing a pinstripe suit and fedora while smoking a cigar?" he asked, dazed out of his mind. He lost his grip of the rope and plummeted below.

"NO!" Gwen, Sky, Harold, and Connor shouted. Luckily, B caught Tyler by the foot, leaving the teen dangling upside down. During this, the Winchester Model 70 rifle that was slung on Tyler's back fell into the crowd of zombies below. After a moment of bliss, Tyler came back to his senses and saw that he was just mere inches from the dozens of decaying hands reaching for him.

"AW! PULL ME UP! PULL ME UP! PULL ME UP!" he panicked. B flung Tyler upwards, where Sky was able to grab ahold of him. Sky didn't notice, but while she was pulling up Tyler, the jock wouldn't take his eyes off of her. B tried to climb back up, but the grappling hook lost its grip from the windowsill.

"Oh fuck!" Harold shouted as he went for the hook. The other four grabbed on too in an attempt to pull the big guy up.

"B! Climb up!" shouted Tyler.

The silent genius struggled to ascend up the rope, with the zombies attempting to pull him down by his coat and legs. One zombie managed to remove B's left sneaker, but B seized the opportunity to kick the zombie as well as the other one that had his other foot. The five survivors above struggled greatly to pull up their friend to safety, but were able to pull him through the window.

Breathing heavily and wiping sweat from her forehead, Gwen said, "Well, I think it's safe to say we won't be doing any more of THAT today!"

"Got that right," B sighed.

Connor gasped. "Holy shit, B just spoke!"

B shrugged. "Yeah, but don't get used to it," he chuckled.

Sky peeked into the hallway. "The corridor's clear. Let's see if we can make it through the front," she said. The others followed the short gymnast through the dark hallway and down the stairs to the main lobby.

With one hand on the doorknob, and clutching his Five Seven in the other, Harold looked at his friends. "Ready? One…two…three!" he flung the door open, aiming his weapon, along with everyone else. They almost fired on instinct, but thankfully the sight of Jasmine's group prevented them from doing so.

"Whoa! Oh, it's just you guys," said Sammy, hands raised.

Harold lowered his pistol. "Gosh darn it, Samantha," Harold grumbled. "I could've put a bullet in you!"

"Thank God you didn't, because otherwise those things would have heard us," said Roger.

"Where's Shawn?" asked Connor.

"We don't know; we're just trying to get out of this stupid town," said Courtney.

" _Hello? Anyone there?"_ Shawn's voice sounded on Jasmine's radio.

Jasmine removed the radio from her belt. "Shawn? Is that you?" she asked.

" _Yeah, I'm here. Where are you?"_ Shawn asked.

"We're still stuck here in town. I'm with Roger, Sammy, Courtney, Sierra, Cody, Harold, Connor, Sky, Tyler, Gwen, and B," she counted.

" _Okay; we're just a mile from your location. Are there many dead ones around?"_

"No, not many. Wait, I see the exit, can you head back here?" Jasmine asked as she led her group towards the edge of town.

" _We can try, just hang tight,"_ Her boyfriend said on the other end. _"Good luck, babe."_

* * *

A sewer rat ran through the dirty water, startling Miles.

"Relax, it's just a rat," said Cooper. The scientist kept his finger on the trigger of his 1911 as he and his group continued to try to find a way out of the sewers. The group of survivors had no choice but to walk through the 4-inch deep water, as there was no other place to walk. Cooper could suddenly hear something coming from behind him. He looked back, in which he could barely make out the outline of a zombie staggering towards him, dragging its feet through the water. Cooper fired his pistol, blowing off a chunk of the zombie's chin, as well as illuminating the area for a brief second due to the gun being fired. Cooper fired again, this time hitting the creature square in the forehead, and it collapsed into the water, its blood beginning to cloud the already murky water.

"What the fuck were you thinking, man?!" Chuck whispered harshly.

"I'm sorry, it just snuck up on me," Cooper defended himself. "Besides, I got another kill, so that's a personal accomplishment for me."

"Yes, but those two shots you fired might attract more of those things if there are any more down here," Scarlett scolded, arms on her hips.

Cooper hung his head and sighed. "Okay." The group started walking away, with Cooper trailing behind. What they failed to notice was a zombie that was stuck in some muck deep in the darkness where the first one came from. The zombie had awoken when Cooper fired his pistol, and had begun hoisting itself up from the muck in order to follow its prey.

"That was very stupid what you did back there. I hope you're happy you got some more _practice_ ," Scarlett scolded, making the word 'practice' sound bad.

"Well excuse me, little lady," Cooper retorted. "Hey, can ask for a favor?"

The Brainiac sighed. "I guess," she mumbled.

"If for whatever reason I die…could you continue my work? You know…like try to find a cure? Again, we know what happened…..but now we just need to figure out a solution. Could you do that for me? Please?" the scientist asked.

Scarlett stopped and turned to face him. She just stared at him, as if she was trying really hard to decide on an answer. "Sure, I will," she nodded.

"How long have we been down here? I feel like we've been going in circles," said Zoey.

"What makes you say that?" asked Mike.

"Because we passed that corpse not too long ago," his girlfriend pointed to a zombie's dead body resting against the wall.

"I see another tunnel up ahead; maybe that one leads out," said Alejandro, his Uzi at the ready.

Mike leaned in and whispered to Zoey, "If it wasn't for that herd, we could've picked up some stuff for the baby."

Zoey poked Mike in the side with the stock of her SKS. "Not so loud, Mike. I don't want anyone to know about this yet. We should wait until we're back with everyone else. But I totally agree; it wouldn't have hurt if we could have picked up some stuff."

"What are you to lovebirds talking about?" asked Chuck with a friendly grin.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Just, uh, wish we could've gotten more supplies, hehe," Mike chuckled nervously, earning a small glare from Zoey.

"Oh yeah, that was a doozy," said the cop.

"Shh! Do you hear that?" said Heather, her Colt Detective revolver drawn. Everyone remained quiet as they reached the front of the tunnel and tried to listen for something. They soon heard what sounded like water being slushed around.

"Where's that coming from?" Alejandro asked.

"Who knows? We should try-" The zombie buried in the tunnel appeared behind Cooper and sunk its rotten teeth into the scientist's upper right arm. Cooper let out a loud scream and fired his pistol three times. The first bullet struck the brick wall, barely missing Mike's face. The second bullet struck a pipe running up the wall, causing water to spray out. The final bullet, well, was a total shock. Heather looked down in shock to see a bullet hole in her stomach, blood beginning to roll down her flesh. She dropped her revolver into the water before collapsing into the shallow water herself, clinching her stomach.

"HEATHER!" Alejandro shouted as he dropped to his knees and set his Uzi aside. Meanwhile, Mike grabbed the zombie that was biting Cooper and drove his bayonet arm through the creature's eye.

"No, no, no, no, _mi amor_ , no, _mi amor_ , no….." Alejandro said, but it was no use, as Heather breathed her last breath while looking into her lover's eyes. And, for the first time since he was just a small _niño_ , Alejandro began weeping, holding Heather's corpse to his chest. The others stood in shock as they observed the scene while Scarlett inspected Cooper's bite.

"Can we amputate it?" asked the bearded scientist.

"Barely; it's a miracle that it didn't get your shoulder," said Scarlett.

Alejandro continued crying, not letting go of his lover's body. But suddenly, something struck the Latin. It was as if time had suddenly stopped, and the only thing Alejandro was aware of was himself. He was oblivious to the concerned remarks of his companions, only heard as faint echoes that he could not understand. His saddened expression slowly transformed into one of anger. Nobody knew what, but something inside him just…..snapped.

In one quick motion, Alejandro drew one of his silver Colt 1911s, stood up, and shot Cooper in the head, some of the latter's blood splattering on Scarlett's face. Alejandro then quickly walked over to him and fired four more rounds into Cooper's dead body before Chuck and Bridgette pulled him back.

"Whoa, whoa, relax, Al!" said Chuck. Alejandro wrestled himself from Chuck's grip and aimed his silver pistol at him.

"Do NOT call me that. EVER!" he shouted.

"I thought that you said you were over that," said Zoey, who had her SKS raised. Alejandro turned and aimed at the redhead.

"Well, maybe I'm not…" he snapped.

"Don't hurt her," threatened Mike, aiming his Beretta.

"Just put it down, man. Nobody else needs to die," said Miles, aiming his MAC-10. After a pause, Alejandro holstered his weapon before walking over and picking up Heather's corpse. " _Vamonos,_ " he said in Spanish as he began to walk away from the others.

"What about Cooper?" asked a still-stunned Scarlett.

"Leave him for the dead," said Alejandro, not looking back.

"But he deserves to be buried too!" Miles protested. Alejandro didn't answer and continued down the dark tunnel. Miles and Scarlett watched as Bridgette, Zoey, and Mike continued down the tunnel. They turned to Chuck, expecting him to help. The police officer just shrugged and followed the others.

Scarlett, her face still covered in Cooper's blood, looked at Cooper's body before saying to Miles, "Help me carry him."

* * *

Shawn put the radio away and walked over to Chef, Duncan, and Brick. "That was Jasmine; they're making their way towards us as we speak," he informed them.

"Where do we go from here?" asked Duncan.

"We're heading to my bunker outside of Toronto. We're going to pick up my dad, but after that, I have no idea," Shawn replied. He let out another loud sigh. Well, I guess we gotta go back and get Jasmine. Chef, tell Scott to turn around and we'll follow," he ordered. Chef nodded and began walking back toward the monster truck while Shawn and Duncan climbed into the bus through the back door.

"Turn this baby around, Gareth!" Shawn called. Gareth gave a thumbs up from the front and started the engine. The two vehicles made a large U-turn and headed the opposite direction.

* * *

Alejandro and his gang walked through the tunnel, the bright rays of sunlight becoming clearer the farther they walked. They soon emerged through a large storm drain, ending up in the middle of the forest. Alejandro laid Heather's body on the ground and reached into his pack, searching for a shovel. He succeeded in finding a small one and unfolded it, and began digging a hole.

"Al, what are you doing?" asked Chuck. Alejandro shot him a venomous glare. "Okay, never mind," he said while backing away, not wanting to anger him.

Scarlett and Miles set Cooper's body against a tree. Miles stretched his back. "Oh man, I don't think I've ever had to carry someone that was three times my weight," he said.

Scarlett looked at the ginger kid. "Can you give me a moment alone with him?" she asked. Miles smiled and nodded before walking away. Scarlett removed her glasses and placed them in her pocket. "I know what you did was an accident…..but you're dead now, so there's absolutely nothing I can do for you," she gloated. The corpse remained silent as it had been, its mouth open slightly.

"But when we find a new place….if there IS any place out there…I'll try," she said. "I really hope you were right about a cure, Dr. Cooper." She said after a pause. She closed his mouth shut, letting her fingers feel his long and thick black beard. Like Alejandro, Scarlett had long forgotten how to cry until now. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting a tear stream down her face. She also pulled out her own shovel from her backpack and started digging her only friend's grave.

Alejandro placed Heather's body her grave. Before he could give her one last kiss, Heather's eyes opened, only her eyes were now those of a zombie. She let out a small decaying moan, slowly rising from the dirt. Alejandro shed no tears this time, instead uttering "Shit, I forgot." He withdrew his machete and drove the blade through Heather's forehead, but not before saying one final _"Te amo."_ He let Heather's body hit the dirt and placed a faded blanket over her corpse. He sighed and started to refill the grave with the excavated dirt.

Mike wandered not too far from the others, when he spotted two zombies feasting on something. He holstered his Beretta in his chest holster before creeping up to the zombies and plunging his bayonet arm into the back of their heads. He kicked one of the corpses off of the body. But when he saw who it was, he felt the urge to vomit.

It was Cameron. The poor scrawny teen had been disemboweled, and a chunk of his cheek had been torn away. His glasses lay beside his head, with one of the lenses badly cracked. Thankfully his eyes were shut, so Mike would not have to see the terror and pain in his eyes. The tanned teen put his hand to his mouth and gagged, trying not to puke at the sight of his dead friend. He eventually kept it down, and got on one knee and drove his bayonet arm through his forehead. Mike then sank to the ground, softly weeping.

"Mike? Are you okay?" he heard his girlfriend calling him. He quickly wiped the tears away and stood up to face Zoey.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go?" he quickly pushed her away from the scene.

"Wait, isn't that…Cameron?" she asked.

Mike sighed. "Yes…it is," he said. Unlike her boyfriend, Zoey did not attempt to hold back her tears and ran back to Cameron's dead body and fell to her knees. She wept as she held his body close to hers, not caring about the blood that smeared her skin and clothes.

"What's going on over here?" Mike turned to see Alejandro and the others standing there.

"They got Cameron," he answered bluntly. Everyone remained silent to take in what Mike had just said. Mike tried to pull Zoey away from Cameron's corpse, but she refused to budge. Because of this, Bridgette and Chuck had to pry her from Cameron's corpse when Mike couldn't do so.

"Pull yourself together, _amiga_. We have better things to worry about," Alejandro said. Mike helped Zoey to her feet, and the two glared at him.

"You know what, asshole? You need to get over yourself. You're not the only one who has lost something today," Scarlett snapped. Alejandro remained silent and started walking the opposite direction, so the others had no other choice but to follow. They decided to try to head back towards the town, but they decided to head out of the woods and walked onto the main road. Alejandro heard a loud honk and was almost hit by the large school bus that Gareth was driving, the grill just inches from his handsome face.

Gareth stuck his head out the window. "W-What the fuck, man?!" he shouted.

Bridgette was the first to climb aboard the bus. "Is this everyone?" she asked Gareth.

"W-Well, almost e-everyone. W-We still n-need to go back and g-get J-Jasmine and her group," he explained. Bridgette's friends boarded the bus and Gareth sped down the road back towards the town.

* * *

The bus and monster truck sped down the road, kicking up many leaves as they drove through the night. It wasn't long before snow had begun to fall, covering everything out in the open in a blanket of frozen water.

In Scott's monster truck, Joshua was giving his brother a noogie, Noah was trying to ignore them, and Chef just stared out the window, his eyes fixated on the falling snow. Scott took notice of this and asked, "You all right?"

Chef didn't turn to look at him. "No…."

"Whatcha thinkin' about?"

"Chris," the cook said. "I knew he was a douchebag, but I still can't believe he's gone."

"Well, he kinda deserved it. I'm still surprised we kept him around that long. Cause if it was me who killed those people, I'm pretty damn sure that someone would've put a bullet in me on the spot," said the farm boy.

In the bus, Nicole shivered. "It's bad enough we barely have any warm clothing to sustain ourselves for the coming winter, so this snow is just going to make it worse," Nicole complained, zipping up her denim jacket.

"Oh please, what are you complaining about? You've got on pretty warm stuff," Lightning said beside her.

"Yeah, but these aren't helping," Nicole pointed to the brown T-strap sandals she wore.

The dim-witted jock rolled his eyes. "Man, I thought straight girls were bitchy," he muttered.

"What did you say?!" Nicole hissed, fire in her eyes.

"Uh, nothing! I didn't say sha-nothing!" Lighting chuckled nervously.

"That's what I thought," she said.

In the back of the bus, Zoey was resting her head on Mike's shoulder, her eyes red from crying over Cameron.

"So Heather and Cameron are dead?" asked Gwen from the opposite seat.

Mike nodded. "Yeah; Cooper accidentally shot Heather, and Al shot him. We found Cameron's body when we made it out," he said. Gwen nodded and sank back in her seat. Cameron's death on the other hand struck her like a knife, but Heather's death seemed to have the same effect. Just when she thought that her former enemy might be on the road to goodness, she was killed.

"I'm so sorry," she said with hurt in her eyes. Mike nodded in thanks and closed his eyes to snooze. Gwen turned to DJ.

"Can you believe that Duncan's back?" she asked.

"I thought I was imagining it," said the giant. "I thought that none of us would ever see him again, of all people. Have you noticed Courtney lately?" Gwen shook her head. "Well, me and Trent have noticed that she's been staring at Duncan ever since Shawn and them brought him back here, but she hasn't said anything to him…..I guess she must still be adjusting to the fact that her and your ex-boyfriend seemingly came back from the dead."

Gwen laughed a bit. "Yeah, you're probably right, big guy," she replied.

"Have you spoken with him yet?" DJ asked.

"When you guys picked us up, I noticed him in the front, but I didn't recognize him because of his missing Mohawk. But once I realized it was him, we just stared at each other in awkward silence." DJ nodded and shut his eyes to catch some sleep.

Courtney walked up to Duncan's seat and sat down beside him. "Sooo…it's great to have you back," Courtney said, rubbing her arm.

"Yeah, it's sure great to be back with a bunch of bastards that I don't even like," Duncan griped, staring out the window.

Courtney ignored this comment. "So that Hannah girl told me you saved her life," she said.

Duncan smiled, but still refusing to look at her. "Yeah. I wanted to leave her, but…."

"But what?" she asked.

Duncan looked Courtney in the eye. "I just didn't have it in me," he replied.

After a pause, Courtney said, "Well, I'm glad you're back." She then kissed his cheek before walking off, leaving the delinquent to sitting there in a state of shock and confusion.

Gareth was about to fall asleep while driving, but he managed to jerk himself awake. Shawn, now with his vest zipped up all the way, walked up to him. "Stop right here, Gareth. This should be the place," he pointed. Gareth pulled onto the side of the road.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Eva.

"My bunker should be somewhere around here. I'm going out there by myself, so you guys just stay put!" Shawn spoke loudly for the ones who were on the verge of sleep could hear.

"Are you sure you don't need me to come along?" asked Jasmine.

He nodded. "I'm sure, babe. Just keep our people safe." He picked up his AK and walked out in to the cold night as the snow began sticking to his face and clothes.

Not too far behind from the group, a mysterious, beaten up white sedan had rolled up. It had its headlights turned off to shield itself, and nobody was aware of its presence…

As Shawn wandered through the forest, he flipped on his flashlight. After wandering around in the snow for a while, he shined his flashlight on something small and metal. He got on one knee and brushed the snow away: the object was a metal handle. Shawn's smile grew three times and he hurriedly twisted the lock combination and lifted the hood. Before climbing down, he noticed something to his right: it was a security camera.

Shawn climbed down the lit hatch before shutting it. Once he reached the bottom, he walked down a short corridor to a large metal door. He punched in another code and the door buzzed before slowly opening.

He entered the room and saw a tall, buff man with his back to him. The man had headphones on his head, but must've sensed Shawn's presence, so he turned around and saw him. The man was in his late 40s, with dark eyes and short brown hair, accompanied by a thick Van Dyke. He was in a white T-shirt and black sleep pants and light brown slippers. The man removed his large headphones and rested them around his neck. The man remained silent as he stared into Shawn's eyes.

Shawn stepped forward with a warm smile on his face. "Hi dad."

 **Important: If a character's name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. If they're in normal text, they're unknown. For those who are dead, they appear in reverse order of when they died (i.e. Staci was the first death, so she's last, then Justin is second-to-last, and so forth).**

 **Shawn's Group:**

 **Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Scarlett, Rodney, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, B, Lightning, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, DJ, Tyler, LeShawna, Eva, Noah, Trent, Gwen, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Cody, Sierra, Alejandro, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Nicole, Vince,** _Cameron,_ _Heather,_ _Chelsea, Amy, Chris, Topher, Beardo, Dakota, Miguel, Dawn, Kenny, Ella, Ezekiel, Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's Group:**

 **Gareth, Joshua, Miles, Ryan,** _Cooper, Pete, Brian, Stephanie, Travis, Blake, Nathan, Tanner, Sal, Larry_

 **Duncan's Group:**

 **Duncan, Hannah, Devin**


	16. Campfire Bonding

**Previously on Surviving the Dead: As Duncan and his friends are welcomed into the group, the remaining survivors that were separated suffer losses, including Heather, Cooper, and Cameron. As night falls, and the snowstorm brews in, Shawn leaves the group to find his bunker alone, and finds someone waiting for him…**

"It's me, dad," said Shawn, inching a few steps towards the man. "Shawn."

The man, still wide-eyed, remained where he stood. "Sh-Shawn?"

Shawn nodded with a smile. It was at this point the man scooped up his son into a bear hug, which Shawn happily returned. "Oh my God, I thought I'd never see you again!" his dad said, tears of happiness dripping down his cheeks.

He released Shawn, allowing his son to catch his breath. "For a while, same to you," Shawn said.

"And I see you're growing a beard!" his father noticed.

Shawn shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm not a big fan of it."

"How did you get here? I thought you were off filming your show," his father said.

Shawn shrugged. "Long story, and I don't wanna talk about it; listen, I've got a group waiting for me, and I want you to come with me."

"You mean you want me to leave? How many of you are there? I'm sure we can make room," his dad reasoned.

"More than this tiny bunker can hold; so I need you to get whatever you need, any food, clothes, weapons, and come with me," he explained.

His dad shrugged and went into the opposite room. While he was out of the room, Shawn began taking some assault rifles and shotguns off a gun rack and placing them into a duffel bag. In a few minutes, his dad came back wearing a red winter coat, black ski pants and winter boots, along with a large backpack on his back. He carried an M16A1 with a thirty round magazine in his hands. The two turned out the lights and began to ascend up the ladder to the surface. Once above, Shawn kicked the hatch door down.

"Where were you when everything went down?" Shawn asked his dad.

"I was actually here checking to make sure the security system was functioning properly, when I heard on the radio that Toronto was on the verge of collapse, so I boarded myself up down there," his dad explained. "I wanted to call you, but I guess every fucking person in the area was trying to use the phone lines at once, so after ten tries, I just gave up trying. What about you?"

Shawn wiped the snow from his eyes. "Zombies attacked us after we finished filming," he said.

The two returned to the others, the snow blowing even harder now. Shawn's dad looked at his son. "It's fine dad, just get in," his son said. His dad smiled and climbed aboard.

As he stepped aboard as well, Shawn said, "Dad, this is Gareth."

"How do you do?" his dad shook Gareth's hand.

"G-Good," Gareth smiled as he shut the doors. The convoy sped away into the night, but once again, nobody was aware of the beaten up white sedan with its headlights off stalking them from behind.

"And this is Jo," Shawn finished introducing his father.

"Abraham Bernstein; good to meet you," his father said.

"Likewise," said Jo.

"Wow, that's quite a grip you got there, ma'am," he complimented.

"Thanks; most men find that intimidating," she said.

Abraham looked around before turning to his son. "So you mean to tell me you got everyone form your little show from Alberta all the way here?" he asked.

Shawn frowned. "Well…there were others…."

His dad knew what that meant. "I'm sorry," he simply said.

"Here's a question for ya, since we couldn't stay at your place, where are we gonna go?" asked Eva, arms crossed.

Shawn didn't know what to say. "Well, I…uh-" He was interrupted by gunshots. He and mostly everyone else ducked down as the shots rang through the air. Scott pulled up beside the bus in his monster truck. "W-What's happening Chef?" Gareth shouted.

"Some asshole's trying to shoot us up!" the cook shouted back. He stuck himself out the window and fired four shots from his Desert Eagle. The driver of the sedan did not flinch and continued firing his Uzi.

"Jo, Dad, help me," said Shawn. He used the stock of his Chinese AK-47 to break the center of the back door window. "Jo, you take the center while Dad and I take the other two," he ordered. "Speed up, Gareth!" Shawn and Abraham bashed the two rear windows and began emptying their magazines while Jo used her hunting rifle through the hole Shawn made for her, using a pile of duffel bags as a barrier.

"That son of a bitch better not hit my motorcycle!" said Duncan, firing a few shots from his Glock out the window. Alejandro and Nicole decided to join the firefight, firing their own Uzis at the vehicle.

Jo fired a shot from her rifle and pulled back the bolt, catching the empty shell as it fell out. "Man, this guy won't give up!" she said.

"Just keep shooting; he's bound to give up eventually," said Abraham as he fired the last seven shots in his M16.

Jo looked down her scope again and aimed for the front tire. She pulled the trigger, striking her target. But this did not stop the mysterious driver, and he continued firing his Uzi. The driver fired his weapon at Gareth, hitting the poor man in the hand. Gareth screamed and dropped his tanned M&P, retreating back in the driver's window.

Shawn inserted a fresh magazine into his AK. "Come on," he said to himself, aiming his rifle at the grill. He opened fire in full auto, successfully striking ten shots into the grill and hood, as well as the other front tire. This, along with multiple bullets hole in the windshield and the other flat tire caused by Jo, caused the driver to swerve out of control and eventually fly off the road and crash into a tree.

"Who the hell was that?" said Sierra, who was holding Cody in a suffocating bear hug.

"I don't know, but whoever it was, they're gone now," said Duncan, checking the magazine in his Glock.

"How can you be sure?" asked Hannah, who was hugging her knees on the ground.

"Would I lie to you?" Duncan asked her with a smile. This made the girl feel a little better and she returned a smile of her own.

"Chef, is anyone hurt?" Connor called over.

"No, we're all okay!" Chef called back. "What about y'all?"

"Gareth's hand is pretty messed up, but besides that I think we're good!" Connor responded.

Chuck got up from the floor and glanced at Alejandro. The cop couldn't help but notice Alejandro's upper left arm was bleeding. "Hey, are you okay man?" he asked.

The Latin looked at Chuck. "Yeah, why?"

"You're bleeding; you've been shot," Chuck said.

Alejandro glanced at his arm, but didn't say anything. "Huh, I guess I have," he said with no emotion.

"Bridgette, you need to get over here!" Chuck called.

"I'll be there in a second after I fix Gareth up," the blonde surfer said while trying to wrap a bandage over Gareth's hand. Currently, Devin was driving in Gareth's place.

"I told you I'm fine," Alejandro said.

"Listen to me, you can't ignore something like that. Let Bridgette-"

"I said I'm fine!" Alejandro raised his voice. Everyone turned their heads towards the two men. Alejandro reached into his pocket and began wrapping his wound with bandage.

Devin stared down the road, but soon heard some peculiar sounds coming from the engine. "Oh crap, please don't tell me…" he said. The bus started to slow down, and finally came to a permanent stop. "Bad news guys, the battery's dead!"

"Do we have any spares?" asked Sammy.

"Afraid not; we're gonna have to walk," said Brick.

"In the middle of the night when it's freezing outside?" asked Courtney.

"What other choice do we have?" said DJ.

As everyone started to pour out of the bus, the mysterious driver weakly kicked his door open and fell onto the snow-covered grass. He let out a few coughs and felt the corner of his forehead. He looked at his hand and saw blood; he had hit his head when he crashed. He weakly got to his feet and could barely make out the shapes of his targets marching down the road in the distance. Even though his face was obscured by the darkness, no one could deny the hatred and anger boiling in his eyes…

* * *

Nicole glanced at her gold watch: 9:16, it read. "Please God, stop the snow and turn the sun back on," she shivered.

Gwen and Duncan tossed some more firewood onto the fire before plopping down on the snow, next to Duncan's motorcycle. Duncan held his hands to the flames to warm them up. "Do you think the snow will stop soon?" Gwen asked.

Duncan shrugged. "Who knows," he said without looking away from the fire.

After a moment of silence, Gwen said, "How was prison?"

"Not that different from juvie, only they never let you go out as often, and you'd be stuck inside for like fourteen hours at a time," he said in return.

Gwen shifted her eyes over to Hannah, who was huddling against Devin for warmth. "I'm surprised you got her here," she said.

Duncan rubbed his hands together. "Yeah, everyone keeps saying that, and frankly I'm sick of hearing it," he said.

"Why? This is so unlike you…well, I mean, it's just…you know-"

"Weird? Yeah, I know….But I'm happy I did; I have come to the belief that…it's fine to be nice, but it's good to be tough when you have to." He turned to face Gwen, smiling.

Gwen sighed, looking into the fire now. "I've never told anyone this…but I honestly thought I could handle those things no problem….but to be honest, I'm just as scared as everyone else," she confessed.

"Yeah; for people like us, you think that we'd be on top of this, but even I didn't believe it when they showed it on TV. At least we know how to handle it," said Duncan.

"Yep; it's all fun and games until it actually happens," she said.

"Like that incident back in season one?" Duncan reminded her. Both teens let out a few small laughs, to which they remained silent afterwards.

"I've missed you," she said after a moment.

"Me too," he said softly. From the other side of the fire, Courtney, wrapped in a thermal blanket, watched as the two teens conversed, jealousy boiling.

Even with the snow blowing hard, the crackle of the fire, and the soft whispers of the group members, they all heard a mysterious noise coming from beyond their camp. Everyone stopped what they doing and listened in; it sounded like singing, but no one could be sure due to the heavy wind.

"What is that?" said Vince.

"I don't know; Roger! You, Connor, and Mike go check it out," said Shawn.

As the three men began to walk off, Sammy stood up. "I'm coming too," she declared.

"Are you sure?" asked Connor.

"Yeah; I feel like I need to do more," she smiled. She pulled out her Beretta Model 84 and walked off to join the others. Before Mike left, he gave Zoey a quick kiss, and then bent down lower to kiss her belly.

Abraham tapped his son on the shoulder. "Do you want me to go with them too?" he asked.

"No thanks, Dad. I trust them; they can handle stuff on their own," he replied.

The quartet left thick footprints in the snow as they walked, waving their flashlights to find the source of the racket. Mike rested his new silenced M4 with ACOG scope on his forearm as they went, never taking his finger off the trigger.

Connor, with his rifle at the ready, slowed down so Mike could catch up. "So what was that?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Mike.

"That whole thing with Zoey….with you kissing her stomach?" Connor said.

Mike's blood ran colder than the air blowing against his face. "Uh, nothing…it's just, uh, her belly's cute? Hehe," he chuckled. Thank goodness it was dark, because otherwise Connor would have seen the redness on his friend's cheeks.

"Well that was the biggest pile of bull shit I've ever heard," Connor insisted.

"I'm telling you, it's nothing, so just leave it be," Mike said sharply, but he didn't mean to sound harsh.

"Mike, what are you hiding?" Connor stepped in front of Mike. Mike avoided looking his friend in the eye.

"…Zoey's pregnant with my child," Mike said rather quickly.

Connor's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that flower girl pregnant?" he demanded.

Mike nodded. "Please don't tell anyone; we haven't had the right time to tell everyone yet," the tanned teen said.

"You've got nothing to worry about. But you guys need to let everyone know eventually," he said bluntly.

"Hey, what are y'all doing? Come on!" shouted Roger. The two joined the hunter and the cheerleader.

Roger kept his eye on some footprints imprinted in the snow. "What do you think?" asked Sammy.

"Well, if it was a roamer, it would look like the feet were dragged. These tracks are too perfect, so they're definitely human," Roger confirmed. As the four walked, Sammy stepped on a loose piece of ground and soon found herself falling down a hillside.

"Sammy!" Mike screamed. He slung his M4 on his shoulder and was about to slide down after her when Roger grabbed his arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"What do you mean what am I doing? She's in trouble; we have to try to save her," Mike said.

"With all due respect, look how steep that slope is. If she's dead, then we might as well be dead too," Roger snapped. Mike looked down the cliff, before sighing.

"Okay, let's go," he said. Roger let go of Mike and continued onward.

"So are we just gonna leave blondie to her fate?" asked Connor.

"Yep," said Roger. "Are you not cool with it?"

"No I'm not, come on," he insisted, but Roger stopped him.

"I normally would concur my friend, but we simply cannot risk our skins," Roger said before walking off.

Infuriated, Connor ran up to the hunter's side, walking in front of him only slightly. "Look, Mike and I are gonna go after her and if you don't-" Connor soon felt like he was floating, but soon realized that he had stepped into a net that was buried in the snow, and was now suspended up in the air.

"Hey! What the fuck?!" he yelled.

Roger glanced up at the net. "What the hell?" he wondered.

Suddenly, a tall figure wearing a black hoodie with the hood over his head jumped out from behind a tree and slashed Roger's back with a machete. Roger fell to his knees and dropped his crossbow. Roger looked up at his attacker, but the stranger raised his machete and drove it into Roger's skull, and he collapsed into the snow.

Mike didn't know what to do. Should he shoot the man? Should he take him hostage? He ultimately decided to go with his instincts and shot the man in the shoulder with his silenced M4. As expected, the man fell to his knees, his hand on his bullet wound, but didn't make a sound.

Before Mike could interrogate the man, he could hear heavy footsteps protruding through the snow. The scrawny teen picked up Roger's crossbow and hid behind a bush. He then saw a second figure wearing an identical hoodie but dark red step out from behind a tree. Mike felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest out of fear that any moment he could be discovered.

The figure bent down to the man, probably to see if he was okay. "Who shot you?" Mike heard the girl ask in a deep, monotone voice.

"It doesn't matter; let's just get these two back to camp," said the man, also in a deep, monotone voice.

The two figures stood up, and Mike could barely make out their facial features: the tall figure he shot was a man, while the shorter figure was a woman. The both appeared to be around his age, and they both wore heavy Goth makeup, complete with snow white skin and black lipstick. Hell, Mike could swear that the man had yellow eyes, but he guessed that they were contacts.

"Please don't hurt me!" Connor shouted. The two hooded figures walked over to him, and the woman used her hunting knife to cut the rope. The taller teen grabbed ahold of the net and began dragging a pleading Connor away, but not before picking Roger's body up and putting it over his shoulder. The two walked away from the sight with their victims, while Mike emerged from his hiding spot and ran off, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed.

Meanwhile, poor Sammy continued to tumble down the mountainside, scraping and hitting herself on rocks and a few small trees as she went. She finally stopped rolling after a few minutes and landed on her back at the bottom of the hill. She had lost her pistol during her tumble, and her body was covered in snow. Even though she wore a jacket, a lot of snow had gotten into the cheerleading uniform she wore underneath. She had multiple scrapes on her legs and a few on her face, and she could feel an intense pain in her left ankle. She tried to sit up to look at it, but she was too banged up to do so and fell back to the ground, staring up at the full moon. Sammy could then feel herself slowing fading into unconsciousness. The last thing she saw before she passed out was the outlines of two mysterious figures standing above her…

* * *

Harold drew in the snow with his katana. "Ugh, what's taking them so long?" he griped.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon, just relax," said Vince, who was standing guard.

Tyler spotted Sky by herself and decided to sit down beside her. "You cold?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah," Sky shivered.

Tyler removed his red track coat. "Here," he offered it to her.

"N-No, I'm fine, really," she denied.

"No, I-I insist," Tyler shivered. Sky shrugged and received Tyler's offering, slipping his large track coat onto her small frame.

"I can't thank you enough for saving me back there," said Tyler.

"It's no trouble; I didn't want to see another one of you die," Sky smiled.

Tyler slowly nodded. "Listen, there is something I wanna confess," he said. Sky looked at Tyler, intrigued. "I like you, and I wanna know, do you like me too?"

Sky froze. The phrase echoed in her head; that's exactly what Dave said, long ago. For a moment, she remained silent; she never interacted with Tyler that much, but she couldn't deny that he was funny and kind of cute. Plus, he enjoyed physical stuff like her, such as jogging and handling zombies with his hands.

After much thinking, she said. "Yeah...I kinda do," she smiled.

"R-Really?" Tyler asked. "Or are you seeing anyone else I don't know about?" Tyler asked, half seriously, half humorously.

"No, like, I do like you. You're cute and kind; so...yeah." she chuckled.

Tyler looked at the ground for a moment. "Uh okay, cool..." They both sat there in awkward silence.

Vince and Chuck could hear something coming from up ahead. The two raised their guns, but lowered them when they realized it was only Mike.

"Oh there you are, man. For a while I thought y'all got lost," Chuck said, holstering his Glock 17. "Hey wait a minute, where's Rog and that tough girl?"

Mike held a finger up, informing him to wait while he went to his pack that was beside Zoey and took a big sip out of a water bottle, dropping Roger's crossbow beside it.

"Mike, what's going on?" asked Zoey.

Mike tried to catch his breath again. "They _*gasp*_ took them _*gasp*_ ," he breathed.

"Who took who, man?" asked Brick.

"Two people, I don't know who, one killed Roger, and then he and his friend took Connor and Roger's body away," Mike said. A few people gasped.

"Why didn't you stop them?" asked Jo.

"I-I don't know; I panicked, okay?" Mike confessed, rubbing his arm.

"Hey wait, Sammy's missing too, where is she?" asked Trent.

"Before we were attacked, she fell off a mountainside. I wanted to go after her, but Roger said it was too risky," he answered.

"Well this is just great! First, we lose one girl, and then we lose our only hunter, and now another kid's taken!" Rodney griped in anger.

"Where are these pricks? I'm gonna teach them a lesson they will never forget!" Izzy declared, holding up her custom M4 with 100 round magazine and grenade launcher.

"Okay, everyone just calm down!" Abraham said. "Shawn, what do you think?" he asked his son.

"Well, for starters, it's tragic to hear of Roger and Sammy. Second, Mike, did you happen to see where they were going?" Shawn asked Mike.

The tanned teen shook his head. "No, but I can take you back to where I saw them," he said.

"Very well, take me back to the site," said Shawn.

"What? Are you sure that's a good idea, son?" Abraham asked.

"Dad, we've dealt with dangerous people before. We can handle it…I can handle it," Shawn said.

Abraham wanted to protest, but only sighed. "Fine, but I'm going too," said his father.

Shawn, Mike, Chef, Abraham, Duncan, Joshua, Alejandro, and Bridgette left the campsite, the others visibly uneasy about their leader leaving.

"It's not that I don't trust you, but going after people like that? It seems a bit risky," said Abraham.

"Oh please, I've been dealing with risky shit since day one," said Shawn.

"There's no need for an attitude, son," his father scolded.

"I'm not having an atti-" Shawn stopped himself and sighed. "Look, I was taken by people before, and I'll be damned if I let more of my friends die that way," he said. "But I can assure you this: whoever these guys are…..they're fucking with the wrong people." **[1]**

 **[1]: I know this line was from Walking Dead, but it seemed like a good closing line. Please don't sue me; I'm broke.**

 **Important: If a character's name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. If they're in normal text, they're unknown. For those who are dead, they appear in reverse order of when they died (i.e. Staci was the first death, so she's last, then Justin is second-to-last, and so forth).**

 **Shawn's Group:**

 **Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Scarlett, Rodney, Mike, Zoey, B, Lightning, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, DJ, Tyler, LeShawna, Eva, Noah, Trent, Gwen, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Cody, Sierra, Alejandro, Connor, Chuck, Nicole, Vince, Abraham,** Sammy, _Roger,_ _Cameron,_ _Heather,_ _Chelsea, Amy, Chris, Topher, Beardo, Dakota, Miguel, Dawn, Kenny, Ella, Ezekiel, Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's Group:**

 **Gareth, Joshua, Miles, Ryan,** _Cooper, Pete, Brian, Stephanie, Travis, Blake, Nathan, Tanner, Sal, Larry_

 **Duncan's Group:**

 **Duncan, Hannah, Devin**


	17. Unholy Prophet

**So get this: I was on YouTube a while ago, and I saw a video by one of my favorite YouTube channels, WatchMojo. It was called Top 10 Animated Goth Girls, and guess what: Gwen was number ten! So kudos to Gwen fans.**

 **Previously, on Surviving the Dead: Shawn reunites with his father, and allows him to join the group. After a run-in with a mysterious assassin, the group makes camp for the night. While investigating strange noises coming from the woods, Sammy gets separated from the group, Roger is murdered by an unknown man, and he and his accomplice drag Eva away with them. Once informed, Shawn and a small scouting team try to track down the two strangers…**

Devin held a stick over the now larger campfire, two marshmallows on the end of it. When they had turned a little burnt, he pulled the stick back and removed the first marshmallow, handing it to Hannah. "Here you are," Devin said.

Hannah put the marshmallow on a s'more. "Thanks," she said, taking a bite.

Trent adjusted one of the strings on his guitar before he began playing a slow, calm tune. Zoey walked over and sat down beside the musician. "That's a nice tune," she said.

"Thanks; I haven't strummed at all since we left Alberta," he said, not looking up from his instrument. Zoey then felt like she was going to puke, so she sprang up and puked behind a bush. "Whoa, are you okay?"

Zoey wiped her mouth. "Uh, yeah. It's nothing," she lied.

"No, I will NOT calm down!" Zoey and Trent heard someone shout. They saw Scott and Cody glaring at each other. "I'm not going to stop bugging you until you give it back!" Cody said.

"Give what back?" Scott feigned ignorance.

"My last protein bar; you know, the chocolate one? If there's anyone here who enjoys chocolate more than me it's you!" Cody argued.

"Pfft, maybe so, but you have no proof," the redneck rolled his eyes, his hands in his grey jacket pockets.

"Oh, so, you're calling me a liar?" Cody glared.

"Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?"

Cody then tried to take a swing at Scott, but easily missed. Scott retaliated by kicking the scrawny guy in the leg, sending him to the snow. Scott then wasted no time in punching Cody across the face, the latter's nose cracking. Zoey and Sierra hurried over to the brawling men and began trying to separate them. Scott managed to shake the two women off of him, but didn't expect Cody to kneel him in the crotch.

Scott let out a small grunt and fell to his knees, hands on his groin. However, he was able to shake off the pain and got to his feet, but rather clumsily.

"You son of a bitch!" he yelled and attempted to kick Cody, but the geek jumped out of the way, and Scott ended up kicking Zoey in the stomach.

Zoey let out a small shriek, stepping back a few feet. Eventually, Rodney and DJ stepped in and broke Cody and Scott up. Cody's nose and mouth were leaking with blood.

"You no-good redneck prick! I'll tear off your nuts for hitting him!" Sierra yelled while being restrained by B.

Chuck held Scott in a chokehold. "Are you calm?" he asked. Scott didn't reply. "I said, are you CALM?" Chuck asked again, this time tightening his grip around Scott's neck.

"Y-Yes, now let me go!" Scott begged, his face blue. The cop released Scott, who was gasping heavily.

As Cody wiped the blood from his face, he took notice of Zoey. "Are you okay?" he asked. Zoey was grasping her stomach, hurt in her eyes.

"Oh God, please be okay," she said to herself. Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"Uh, what are you talking about?" asked Nicole.

Zoey didn't answer; instead, she walked up to Scott and punched him across the face, sending him against a tree. "You fucker! You could've hurt it!" she screamed, anger in her brown eyes.

"What?" Scott asked, rubbing his jaw.

"You just can't hit a pregnant woman, dumbass!" she shouted. It took her a minute to realize what she said, but it was too late.

"You're _what?_ " said Courtney.

"Did she say what I think she said?" Sky asked Tyler.

Zoey sighed. "I was hoping to say it when Mike came back, but, it's true. I'm pregnant," she said. The camp was silent, taking in the news.

Chuck was the first to speak up. "How long?" he asked.

"I don't know; maybe a month, or maybe a few days less," Zoey said.

"That….is….AWESOME!" Izzy shouted, hugging Zoey tightly. "We're gonna get a fortieth member soon! I'm gonna name him or her Izzy Jr.!"

Zoey gently pushed Izzy off of her. "Thanks for the support, Izzy, but Mike and I are going to name the child," she smiled. "But I'll consider it."

"Zoey, do you really think it's worth it?" asked Gwen.

"What do you mean?" Zoey asked her friend.

"What I mean is that are you willing to have a baby now? When we have no place to go?"

"We've got nine months to find ourselves a place. If she wants to have it, then let her," said Devin.

"But do you really want to risk it?" said Trent. "It's not that I don't think having a baby is a good thing, but what if it's a stillborn? It could come back and rip you apart from the inside." Chills ran up his spine. "Oh man, I just freaked myself out a minute there," he said, his hand on his chest.

"I don't want to think about that, Trent. But you do make a good point," Zoey said.

"Do you want to abort it?" asked Scott, his jaw purple from Zoey's assault.

Zoey's jaw dropped. "What?" she asked, shocked.

"Do you want to abort it?" Scott repeated. "I know how."

"How do you know how to abort a baby?" asked a disturbed DJ.

"Don't ask how I know. So again, I ask you, do you want to abort it?" Zoey remained silent.

"I'll talk to Mike when he and the others return. Until then, I don't want hear anything else," she said, folding her arms.

* * *

Shawn bent down to inspect the snow. "Are these them, Mike?" he asked.

Mike knelt beside Shawn. "Oh yeah. They're the ones," he confirmed.

"How can you tell?" asked Joshua.

Mike pointed to the footprints with his bayonet arm. "The woman was wearing high-heeled boots, and these tracks look like them," he said. "They must've headed off in that direction." He pointed the blade ahead.

Shawn brushed the snow off his jeans and started leading the group down the trail of prints. They all soon saw a small pack of zombies dragging their legs through the snow. Shawn gestured his companions to go around, but Alejandro ran forward and decapitated one with his machete.

"Al, what are you doing?" said Chef. Alejandro quickly drove his blade into another zombie's head, but another one grabbed the back of his shirt. It was about to sink its teeth into his body, when a bullet silently flew through the air, striking the monster in the back of the head.

Bridgette holstered her silenced 1911 and killed another zombie with her knife. Shawn huffed and extended the bayonet on his AK, driving it through a zombie's eye. The rest soon joined in shortly afterward. Alejandro swung his machete, decapitating a zombie, but some of the blood splattered on Duncan's jacket.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing, Al," Duncan griped. This earned him a silent glare from the Latin as he noticed the last zombie lunging towards him. He kicked the zombie to the snow and drove the machete into its face. However, he removed it and drove it again into the creature's face, over and over again, while his companions looked on. Alejandro was about to deliver another blow, but he felt someone grab his arm.

"Stop!" He turned to Bridgette scolding at him, her iron grip refusing to let go. Alejandro pulled his arm from her grasp, and glanced down at the slain walker. Its skull had been completely caved in from Alejandro's blows.

"What the hell were you thinking, man?" said Shawn, once his bayonet was folded was again.

Alejandro remained silent, putting his machete away. He removed Roger's crossbow from his back and continued following the tracks. Shawn and the others followed after him, but Bridgette hurried over to Alejandro. She pulled him to the back of the group while everyone else continued forward.

"What was that?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked, avoiding looking into her eyes.

"That wasn't necessary; we could've gone around," she said.

" _Imposible,"_ he said in Spanish. "They had to be dealt with." He started to walk off, but the surfer grabbed him again.

"Hey, I get it, you're pissed. I was pissed too….after Geoff died…..I just wanted to kill Chris for what he did to him," Bridgette said.

Alejandro finally looked into her emerald eyes. "You and I are not the same, _chica_ ," he said.

Bridgette let him go. "You're right, we're not the same. When Geoff died, I didn't go around doing stupid shit that would get me killed." Alejandro huffed and walked off to catch up with the others. Bridgette trailed behind, but soon became uneasy when she heard howling in the distance, raising her rifle.

"You all right?" Bridgette nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice. She turned to see Joshua by her side.

"Where did you come from?" she asked.

"I had to pee," Joshua said simply. "Were you scared?"

Bridgette shivered; however, it was not out of being cold (she had replaced her shorts and sandals with skinny jeans and white Converse sneakers), but rather out of fear. "A little spooked, yes. I really hate being in the woods, especially at night. My anxiety gets even worse when I'm alone," she said.

"Well….I'm here. Doesn't that make things a little better?" Joshua asked with a smile.

Bridgette blushed a little. "Y-Yeah, it does," she smiled back. She glanced forward at Alejandro. "I'm getting worried about him."

"Al?"

"Yeah, Josh. I fear if he continues to do what he pulled back there….he may get himself killed," she said.

"What if he's trying to die? I remember, back at Travis's factory, one man was overworked, to the point of being a walking corpse like the ones we kill. His wife had been killed for defiance, and me and Miles distinctively remember seeing the man run from the rest of us and dove head first into one of the zombie pits," the shaggy teen said. "When you lose a loved one, you feel like your life no longer has meaning."

"I know how that feels," Bridgette mumbled.

"But in the end, if you haven't killed yourself yet, you move on. You find some company, and then they become your world," said Joshua.

"That may be true, but still, there's always that constant threat that that world can be stripped from you at any moment," Bridgette argued.

"Well, then I guess the only solution is to make the best of it," he winked before walking off.

"Hey Josh!" Bridgette lightly called. Joshua turned his head. "Could you help me keep an eye on Alejandro?" Josh smiled and nodded. Joshua and Bridgette soon felt themselves bumping into Alejandro's back; the group had stopped.

Bridgette started to say, "What's go-"

"Shh! Do you hear that?" said Abraham. The gang held their breathes in an attempt to hear the sound more clearly. It was no doubt that the sound was screaming echoing through the trees.

"It sounds like it's coming down that way, and these tracks lead straight to it. Come on!" said Shawn taking off down the path.

* * *

"Let me out of this, you assholes!" Connor shouted. His assailants ignored his cries and continued walking, dragging him through the snow. Connor tried to reach for his gun, but the net was so tight he couldn't move anything. "Please, let me go! I don't wanna die!"

"Silence," said the female.

"No, let me out of this! I'm just gonna keep screaming until-" The female kicked Connor in the face, knocking her out.

"Why did you do that? His screams were pleasurable," said the man dragging the net, a sadistic smile upon his pale face.

"It was pleasurable for me too, Ennui, but what if there were more out there?" the girl asked in her monotone voice.

Ennui sighed. "You're right, Crimson," he said before returning to silence.

* * *

Connor opened his eyes, but he couldn't see a thing. He could make out something bright in front of him, but he realized it was a campfire. Was he back with her people? No, the one back at her camp was smaller; this one looked big enough to cook an entire deer over it if need be. His sight slowly came back to him, and he could faintly make out the rest of his surroundings. He was standing up, and he could feel something tight around his body. He looked to see he was tied to a large tree. Over the fire, large slabs of meat could be seen, simmering loudly. Connor could also see his two kidnappers, their hoods still over their heads and hands in their hoodie pockets, standing a few feet away from her, staring into the fire. He could also see eight other people wearing dark hoodies with the hoods over their heads, staring into the flames. Like Ennui and Crimson, they all wore heavy Goth makeup.

"Let me out of here!" he barked.

One of the other figures, a female, put a finger to her lips. "Shh! The prophet is praying; we must be silent so the Lord can receive his prayer," she said. Unlike Ennui and Crimson, this woman spoke did not speak in monotone. A few moments of dead silence passed over soon, and someone emerged from a tent on the other side of the campsite. The ten hooded figures all got on one knee and bowed their heads.

The figure, like his comrades, was dressed in a dark hoodie with the hood over his head. Eva could see that he was wearing a dark leather plague doctor mask with a small beak over his face.

"Rise, brothers and sisters," said the man, his voice manipulated by the thick mask. The troupe of Goths rose to their feet. "I have spoken with the Lord. He spoke to me, saying that prosperous times are ahead," He walked over to Connor, inspecting him. "And who might you be?" he asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing," Connor said, staring deep into the mask's deep eyes.

The man removed his hood and plague doctor mask, making Connor gasp silently at seeing the man's face. He was in his mid 40's, and he had a bald head and was wearing white Goth makeup. He also had black lipstick and he wore red contacts, making him look like a demon. He also had black streaks of makeup running down his cheeks, three on each cheek. "Calvin," he said with a devilish smile, revealing his dirty teeth.

"Great to meet ya, now do me a favor and let me out of this!" Connor demanded. "I promise I won't come back!"

"Tisk, tisk, tisk. I'm afraid I cannot allow that to happen, my dear. For you see, we cannot let you go," said Calvin.

"When may we eat, oh mighty prophet?" asked another female.

"We'll talk more later, deary," he said to Connor, hitting his cheek playfully. He turned to the female. "Now, my dear Marcy. Aaron, has the latest catch been cooked?"

Aaron, a man with a black lightning bolt painted over his right eye, nodded. "Yes Calvin," he said, motioning to the large slabs of meat over the fire.

The prophet patted Aaron on the shoulder. "Well done, dear brother," he said before putting his plague doctor mask back over his face. As Calvin walked off, Connor noticed Aaron looked uncomfortable. Crimson and Ennui removed the slabs of meat from the fire and began passing them out to their companions.

"Now brother and sisters, let us pray for the Lord to bless us," Calvin said. Everyone bowed their heads and closed their eyes. "Oh Lord, in these times of death and destruction, we pray that you will bless this food for which you have provided with. And bless brother Ennui and sister Crimson for bringing that blessing back to us," Calvin prayed.

While Calvin's praying continued, Connor was trying to think of a way to break free, but every single one was worthless. He was intrigued by the scene; what were these strangers planning? He knew they were a religious sect of some kind, but judging from the appearances of its members, Connor could only assume that they weren't friendly.

"In your holy name, amen," Calvin concluded. All the rest said "Amen" and began gnawing on their meat. Ennui tore a piece from his own piece and walked over to Connor, sticking it in his mouth.

As he chewed, he looked around the campsite, when he saw something peculiar; a camouflaged cap was hanging on a stick next to Calvin's tent. Connor squinted his eyes, and to his horror, he realized whose it was: Roger's.

Connor spat the meat at Ennui's face in disgust and terror. "Oh my God! Help!" Connor shouted in a fit of panic. Ennui angrily withdrew his machete and held it to Connor's throat.

"Don't do it, brother Ennui," said Calvin. Ennui put his weapon back, not taking his eyes off of their prisoner.

Calvin walked up to Connor, standing so close that the tip of the beak of the mask was poking Connor's nose. "The least we can do is give you a bite to eat….I insist," he said, tearing a piece of his slab and holding it in front of his face. Connor, filled with anger and shock, slowly opened her mouth and Calvin inserted it into Connor's mouth. The young man started chewing again, this time much slower, and tears beginning to form in his eyes. He needed to get away the first chance he got; for all he knew, he could be next on the menu...

 **If you found this chapter unsettling, I apologize. But, to be honest, something like this was bound to happen eventually.**

 **Important: If a character's name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. If they're in normal text, they're unknown. For those who are dead, they appear in reverse order of when they died (i.e. Staci was the first death, so she's last, then Justin is second-to-last, and so forth).**

 **Shawn's Group:**

 **Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Scarlett, Rodney, Mike, Zoey, B, Lightning, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, DJ, Tyler, LeShawna, Noah, Trent, Gwen, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Cody, Sierra, Alejandro, Connor, Chuck, Nicole, Vince, Abraham,** Sammy, _Eva,_ _Roger,_ _Cameron,_ _Heather,_ _Chelsea, Amy, Chris, Topher, Beardo, Dakota, Miguel, Dawn, Kenny, Ella, Ezekiel, Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's Group:**

 **Gareth, Joshua, Miles, Ryan,** _Cooper, Pete, Brian, Stephanie, Travis, Blake, Nathan, Tanner, Sal, Larry_

 **Duncan's Group:**

 **Duncan, Hannah, Devin**

 **Calvin's Cult:**

 **Calvin, Ennui, Crimson, Aaron, Marcy, 6 other unnamed members**


	18. The Lord Knows All

**How long has it been? A little over month? Well, I apologize for the late update. I've got many things going on, and it's getting harder for me to post sooner than I used to. Also, I'm having a little trouble with character development. Just a little heads up, Calvin and his group are pretty disturbing, so if their behavior makes any of you uncomfortable, I apologize.**

 **Previously, on Surviving the Dead: After a brief tussle between Scott and Cody, Zoey is forced to admit to the rest of the group that she and Mike are expectant parents (finally!). Meanwhile, Shawn tries to lead a search party in hopes of finding Eva. Along the way, Bridgette confides in Joshua about Alejandro's recent aggressive behavior. As for Eva, she finds herself being in the captivity of an unholy and cannibalistic cult….**

Limping through the snow, the mysterious driver came to rest beside a tree, his head throbbing with pain from the crash. The man knew that he had to find shelter and rest if he were to make it through this storm. His stomach growled with hunger.

He looked all around him when he saw a light through the falling snow. Far beyond, it seemed as if he had caught a glimpse of potential hope of mingling with whatever humans were out here. This wasn't some hallucination. He knew they were people; and no one could tell him that they weren't.

Mustering whatever strength that wasn't lost in the car crash, the man managed to drag himself through the freezing snow and air until he could make out the large camp size. Good God that was a big group.

' _If only I had ammo. I could kill them all,'_ he thought to himself. He wasn't close enough to where they could see him, but he was close enough to hear their conversations. One person, a tan-skinned teen with what looked like a knife duct taped to his left arm, was babbling about someone being taken. He then mentioned about someone named Sammy vanishing.

A large boy with auburn hair said, "Well this is just great! First, we lose one girl, and then we lose our only hunter, and now another one is gone," the teen griped.

The man also saw another ginger, a girl this time, say something along the lines of, "Where are these pricks? I'm gonna teach them a lesson they will never forget!"

After another minute of debating, one with an orange vest and green beanie set off with a small group, including the tanned boy. The man ducked down behind a shrub to avoid being seen, camping like in a video game. When the departing party was far enough, the stranger hoisted himself up, but he did not bother to dust off the snow. ' _This will act as camouflage,'_ the man thought. His determination was kicked into full gear once more and set off after the troupe….

* * *

Sammy tried to open her eyes, but she was too dazed. She felt like she was being carried, a faint voice saying, " _Careful Griffin, she's delicate."_ before blacking out again.

She only stirred once again after that, and two faint voices were arguing. " _Are you stupid? Did you_ really _think bringing in another mouth to feed was a good idea?!"_ said one voice, while the other said, " _No, I'm not stupid. Look, she looks pretty bad. I say we keep her around for a while, and then she'll leave."_ Sammy couldn't catch anymore as she slipped away into unconsciousness once more.

Some time later, Sammy slowly opened her eyes once again, adjusting to the dim lighting of the room. She saw that she was in a small bedroom, with a window on the far wall to the right, where she could see it was night out. The room was only lit by two candles on the nightstand, but she could swear that she could see what looked like her cheerleading uniform and jacket neatly folded beside them. She lifted up the sheets and saw that she was down to her white bra and panties. Confused, she decided to throw the sheets off of her and stand up, but she stopped when her foot touched the wooden floor. A painful signal shot through her leg; she winced a little and climbed back into the bed.

 _Knock Knock Knock_

Sammy heard three small knocks at the bedroom door. She wanted to say come in, but she hesitated. She didn't have her knife or pistol with her; should she answer the door? Should she try to hide under the covers like a child? She didn't have time to come up with a decision, as the door opened, and a figure poked its head in. Given the poor lighting, Sammy could not make out the person's features.

"Oh good, you're awake," said the figure in a female voice. The woman pulled her head back into the hallway. "Jonah! Get up here, she's awake!" she called. The faint sound of footsteps began echoing up the stairs, and the woman turned back to Sammy. "Jonah will help tend to your injuries. Come down when you feel like it," she said before leaving.

Sammy could hear the woman and someone else whisper outside, until another person entered, shutting the door behind him. He walked over to the bed, a smile on his handsome face. He was in his mid-twenties, with short dark brown hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. He wore a green thermal long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark blue jeans, light grey Converse sneakers, and a silver watch on his left wrist.

"Hi there, I'm Jonah," he said.

"I'm…Samantha. But….Sammy is fine," she said, blushing.

Jonah pulled up a chair to the bedside. "Now, from my understanding, you have a sprained ankle," he said. "May I take a look?" This was met with an uneasy look from the blonde. "Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you," he assured. Sammy obliged and removed her left leg from under the covers and sat in on the comforter. Jonah scooted his chair closer to Sammy and grabbed her foot, making Sammy blush even more. Jonah reached into his back pocket and took out some bandages and began to wrap Sammy's foot.

"Who was that woman at the door a few moments ago?" Sammy asked.

"That was Emma. She's our leader," the man answered without looking up from his work.

" _Our_ leader?" Sammy asked in confusion.

"Yeah, including you, there are five of us. It's you, me, Emma, Nick, and Griffin. You haven't met Nick and Griffin yet; they're downstairs," Jonah said, this time looking Sammy in the eye. "In fact, it was Griffin and I that found you out there."

As Jonah spoke, Sammy looked at her cheerleading uniform on the nightstand. "Why did you remove my clothes?" she asked.

"We didn't want you sleeping in wet clothes," he replied with a small smile. "And in case you were wondering, you've been out for about a few hours." He finished wrapping the twin's foot and softly patted it. "That should be good. As Emma told you, you don't have to come downstairs right now, so I recommend you spend the night up here." Jonah got up and exited, but not before blowing out the two candles on the nightstand and saying "Good night.", leaving Sammy in total darkness.

* * *

Calvin was squatting and staring into the flames of the fire. His mask was removed once again, holding it in one hand while holding Roger's meat in the other. He took a bite out of his slab of meat, smacking as he chewed. "What to do…..what..to...do?" he said to himself. He stood up and took one last bite before discarding the fat that was left. He walked up to Connor. "What to do with _you_?" he wondered, twirling his finger before playfully bopping the tough girl on the nose after the word 'you'.

Connor glanced at the other cult members, who were all still feasting on their food. His eyes soon fell upon Aaron, who, out of the past seven minutes of feeding, had only taken one bite. His eyes briefly met Connor's, and they seemed to say more than his make-uped face could. His eyes seemed to say, "I don't like this.", or "You and I are in the same boat."

Connor turned back to Calvin. "What the hell do you want with me?" the teen asked, glaring into the prophet's false, devilish red eyes.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out….You see, normally how this works is….we don't make acquaintances with people for too long. You know why? Because we need them…..to survive. Whether to consume or to offer….we know that this is the Lord's way of testing humanity…..to see which of us are worthy and obedient to His bidding," Calvin concluded. He withdrew his sickle and cut Connor's ropes. Connor made no attempt to run, as Ennui, Crimson, and Calvin had her cornered.

Calvin opened his mouth to preach, but his attention was directed towards something else. While most people could not have seen anything through the ever so thick blizzard, Calvin could see shapes moving in their direction. The most prominent feature of these shapes was one that looked like someone wearing an orange winter vest.

Calvin called for Aaron. "Brother Aaron!" When no response was heard, the prophet turned to his follower. "Brother Aaron?"

Aaron turned his head to the prophet. "Y-Yes, mighty prophet?"

"Tie his wrists; I sense a force heading our way," said the prophet.

"But surely it's nothing that we cannot handle. After all, you and the Lord have protected us since the very beginning," said Crimson.

"While that is true, dear sister, I feel that this force may be too big for us to handle at this moment." Calvin closed his eyes for a minute before opening them again. "The Lord has instructed us to head west from here. You! Out with the fire!" Calvin instructed a young member of the group. Soon, the fire was put out, bags were packed, and the snow seemed to blow harder now. The group hurriedly left the site, Calvin whispering to them to not make a sound, although this was never really an issue, as his followers were never really talkative to begin with. Aaron dragged Connor behind him, the latter's hands tied in front of him. The cult then slid down a small hill, successfully avoiding being seen.

Shawn and his search party stopped running and began to search the grounds. "What the-? I swear I saw a fire," said Shawn.

"Maybe you were just seeing things," said Abraham.

Shawn turned to his father. "No, I'm very positive I saw it," he said.

"Like hell you did. Look," Duncan pointed to the fire pit, smoke rising from it.

Bridgette bent down, resting her M4 on her lap. "Yeah, and look here. You can still see some ember," she said.

Shawn shined his flashlight on the snow. As expected, there were multiple sets of footprints leading away from the site. Unexpectedly, the batteries died, prompting Shawn to shake it a few times in a desperate attempt to get it to turn back on, but this proved fruitless. Without a word the young man inserted the flashlight into his back pocket and walked off, his companions in tow.

Calvin instructed his group to drag their feet through the snow, to ensure that if they were being followed by an unknown or otherwise hostile force, they would mistake them for zombie tracks. After walking for about an hour, Calvin held up his hand, signaling the others to stop. He pointed to small cave up ahead. "That is our place of rest for tonight, brothers and sisters," he proclaimed.

A middle-aged member suddenly, but quietly, exclaimed, "All hail the prophet!" This prompted the others members to quietly say, "Hail!" The group made their way into the cave, but were soon stopped again by their leader. Calvin removed Connor's lever-action rifle from his back and aimed it into the dark, hoping to himself that this safe place was not occupied by someone….or something.

Calvin stopped in his tracks and removed his mask to see better. He had bumped into something, something large and hairy. He squinted his eyes, and soon saw what this cave belonged to: a grizzly bear, deep in hibernation. Instead of attacking it, Calvin slung the assault rifle back on his back. "Brother Ennui, I acquire your assistance," he whispered.

"What is it, mighty prophet?" Ennui asked.

"Reach into your pack and get the candles," said the prophet. Ennui reached into his bag and pulled out a set of small candles. From the looks of it, they look like that they had been used before. Ennui began placing the candles around the bear, lighting each one with a match as he went. Once complete, Calvin and everyone else gathered around the sleeping bear, except Aaron, who was asked to stay with Connor, holding him at gunpoint with his own Beretta. The members removed their hoods.

Calvin put his plague mask back on. "Hand me your blade," he ordered Ennui. Ennui obliged and handed the prophet his blood-stained machete with both hands, bowing his head as he did so.

"Brothers and sisters, let us bow our heads in prayer," the prophet proclaimed. "Lord, we offer this bear to You as an offering, as thanks for leading us to this temporary, but humble shelter. And while only You provide me with Your wise advise, Lord, I do not know much. But You know all Lord, and You should only be offered the best. In Your holy name we pray, amen," Calvin prayed before bringing the blade down on the creature's large head. The creature seemed to stir for a mere moment, as the blade did not penetrate the skull completely. During the sacrifice, the other cult members began chanting the phrase, "The Lord Knows All, The Lord Knows All." repeatedly. Calvin raised it again and struck the bear again, this time earning a small, but loud whimper of pain from the bear. The third blow made the creature attempt to rise up from the floor. On the fourth blow, the creature fell still, it's brief misery over forever. During all of this, Connor watched in a horror that tapped deep into his mind and soul. Out of everything he's seen, he has never encountered such insane barbarians such as these.

Calvin handed the machete back to Ennui. He then proceeded to remove his mask and dip his hands in the bear's blood, before smearing it on his cheeks. "Come, my friends," he said. First Ennui rubbed his face in the blood, then Crimson, and soon everyone else except Aaron and Connor.

"Brother Aaron, let Sister Crimson keep our friend company and come to get yours," Calvin offered. Aaron reluctantly handed Connor's pistol to Crimson. He slowly walked over to the bear corpse and dipped his hands into the bear's blood, rubbing it on his face. Unlike the rest, who took time to rub the fluid into their pores, Aaron simply streaked the blood down his cheeks before going back to Connor, relieving Crimson. Connor said a prayer in his head that he wasn't forced into doing the same thing.

"We must rest now, brothers and sisters. The Lord has a glorious day ahead of us tomorrow!" Calvin declared, before laying down on the rock floor beside the bear corpse. Ennui blew out the candles and soon went to cuddle with Crimson.

While the other members lied down, a middle-aged member with a lazy eye said, "You good?", talking to Aaron. Aaron nodded slowly, still aiming Connor's pistol at him.

When everyone was out, Connor asked Aaron, "What the fuck was that all about?", referring to the blood-smearing ritual.

Aaron sighed with a hint of depression. "That is to "ensure that the Lord will safeguard us, through the blood of a sacrificed gift.", or at least according to the "prophet"," he replied, air quoting Calvin's statement and the word 'prophet'.

Silence soon passed over, but was broken as quickly as it arrived. "You don't like it, do you?" asked Connor.

Aaron tilted his head in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"Being here….with these psychos," he said.

Aaron remained quiet and stared at the ground before turning his attention to the falling snow outside the cave. "...No. I don't…..I _hate_ it," he answered.

Now it was Connor's turn to tilt his head. "Then why do you stay with them? You can leave while they sleep, and they'll never see you again," he reasoned.

Aaron looked Connor in the face, a sad expression on his face. "You're wrong. Calvin is an expert tracker….they all are. Even if I cover my tracks, I know, one way or another, they will find me. And let me tell you something, man: if you leave, and if they catch you, there are NO second chances. He may appear merciful, but I assure you, betraying the prophet is the ultimate crime," Aaron revealed.

Connor leaned forward a bit. "What happens?" he asked. Connor himself wasn't sure if this was out of plain or fearful curiosity, but he really didn't think much of it.

"If you are caught trying to leave…..you are either sacrificed or eaten. Sometimes, when they're hungry, they may kill you immediately to spare you the misery. But this is a rarity; almost ninety-nine percent of the time...they eat you alive." Aaron huffed. "They're no different," he muttered.

"Different from what?" Connor asked.

Aaron pointed to a zombie that was resting against a tree while being half buried in the snow, trying to reach out for something that was not there. Connor understood now. "Oh," she said. "But what about you? Do you think you're different from them?"

"The dead or them?" Aaron pointed to the sleeping cult.

Connor shrugged. "You said it yourself. There's no really much of a difference is there?" he asked, half grinning and half frowning.

Aaron laid down Connor's pistol and pulled his knees to his chest. "I really don't know anymore...This shit has been bothering me for a long time now...But as I told you earlier, I cannot leave. Unless I find a car...we're not going anywhere. You should rest now; we usually leave at daybreak."

* * *

Shawn and company continued walking, until Chef piped up. "Hey Shawn, I'm gonna check out that area down that hillside," he said, pointing to said hillside with his shotgun.

"Fine, but have Alejandro or Duncan go with you," said Shawn.

Chef shook his head. "That won't be necessary; I can handle myself," was Chef's last words to the group before separating from them and beginning to carefully scale down the hillside while the others moved on.

Once Chef had reached the bottom of the hill, he heard some rustling above him. He aimed his shotgun above him, but was relieved to see that the wind was only blowing some tree branches. He lowered his gun and let out a relieved sigh.

Suddenly, the cook felt something grab his shoulder. His first thought was that it was a roamer, but this suspicion died as he soon felt a pair of legs wrap around his waist and another hand cover his mouth. Chef then let out a muffled scream as he felt an intense pain shoot through his back. Whatever had pierced him left his back but soon returned in a split second, and Chef could feel the warm blood rolling down him and soaking his shirt. Chef fell forward and dropped his gun. The assassin grabbed Chef by the throat and looked him dead in the eye. He pulled Chef so close their faces were almost touching. Despite this, Chef couldn't make out any of his features. He was trying his best to gasp for air, and his eyes seemed to almost bulge out his head.

The stranger finally spoke. "Why didn't you go back?" The crazed man said no more and began stabbing Chef in the neck repeatedly, and he continued even long after Chef's desperate attempts to breath had ceased...

* * *

Morning came slowly. The blizzard had passed, the orange sun glimmering over the snow-covered forest. Shawn and the others returned after fruitless hours of searching for Connor. When it was noticed that Chef had not returned, Shawn decided to not take any chances splitting up, so they walked back to camp. While some like Bridgette, Mike and his father Abraham disagreed, and even chastised him for it, they were all too tired to continue and followed him back to camp, their heads hanging low.

Zoey was also among the first to awaken. She blinked twice before remembering that she had fallen asleep in Mike's arms. Mike, as if sensing her awakening, yawned and sat up. "Morning," he said, sleep still in his eyes.

"Same to you," she said, giving him a kiss. They snuggled closer together. "I told them," she confessed.

Mike looked at her with shock. "You did? I thought we were going to tell them together," he said.

Zoey sighed. "Well, I did. I'm sorry, but it just happened...I didn't tell you last night because Scott had suggested to me about the possibility of aborting it," the redhead said.

Mike shook his head. "No, don't even _consider_ that!" he said sharply.

Zoey now got defensive. "I never _said_ that I would consider, Mike! I just-" She sighed; she didn't feel like arguing first thing in the morning. "Scott gave me an option, and I said I'd talk to you about it."

Mike lightly pushed Zoey off of him. "Well, Scott needs to understand that what we do with our child is no one's business, especially his," Mike said.

"Does someone keep saying my name?" Scott asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Mike got up and pulled Scott to his feet before the redneck could adjust. "What the hell gives you the right to suggest something like abortion to my girlfriend?" Mike demanded.

Scott dusted snow off of himself. "It was just in case it wasn't planned or if you didn't want it," Scott tried to reason.

Mike punched Scott in the nose, sending the dirt farmer to the ground. "How DARE you say something like that!" Mike yelled, waking up the rest of the camp. Sky and Tyler awoke to see that they had fallen asleep in each other's arms as well, but quickly separated from each other, both blushing wildly.

"Jesus Christ, keep it down, y'all!" Jo griped, pulling her hood over her head.

Sam helped Scott up and looked at Mike. "So, I guess Zoey told you about last night?" he asked.

Mike flexed his sore fingers. "Yeah.." he said, but said nothing more.

Bridgette and Gwen rummaged through the former's bag. There was no food left, but they found a bottle of painkillers. Bridgette took the bottle and looked at Gareth, clutching his wounded hand. "Do you need more?" she asked.

Gareth nodded eagerly. "Y-Yes, please," he smiled.

Bridgette handed him the bottle. "Take two and I'll try to find some water that's not frozen," she giggled. Gareth almost snatched the bottle out of her hand as Bridgette turned away to search her bag some more. The 30-something year old man stared at the bottle, before a small tear rolled down his cold face. With no one watching, Gareth threw back not one or two, but _five_ painkillers before Bridgette turned back to him, a nearly empty bottle of water in her hand. "Th-Thank you," Gareth said, drinking what was left of the bottle.

"What are having for breakfast? I have no more snacks left," complained Cody.

"Probably nothing. With Roger dead, we can't hunt anything," said Nicole.

"We have bigger things to worry about than food. Chef and Connor are still missing," said Miles.

Shawn sighed. "As much I want to go back out there and look, I say we just stay here and wait. Those two are great with their surroundings; I'm sure they can find their way back," he said. This seemed to shock the others. Regardless of him being the leader, Shawn was usually very optimistic about finding any missing friends.

"Are you really sure that's a good idea? The sun's up, most us are decently rested. I see no reason why we can't go," Abraham said.

His son did not take this well. "Dad, I appreciate your opinion, but just trust me on this," Shawn tried to assure his father.

Abraham shook his head. "I'm sorry son, but I simply cannot let this go." He picked up his M16. "I'm going," he said before leaving. Shawn tried to call after him, but his dad ignored him, saying loudly, "Look, you stick with your plan, and I'll stick with mine!"

Shawn then noticed Brick and Jo leaving too. "Where are you going?"

"What does it look like, smarty-pants?" asked Jo, walking off with her rifle in hand.

Brick watched Jo leave before saying, "Never leave a man behind," he shrugged, before leaving after Jo.

Duncan soon began walking off, when Courtney grabbed his arm. "Can I come with you?" she asked. Duncan shrugged and walked off without giving an answer. Courtney fumed at being ignored and ran off after him and the other three.

Shawn watched them leave the camp, and his heart sank even more when Tyler and Sky decided to join them too. _'What the hell, Dad?'_ he thought. He was glad he didn't say this aloud. His father was a nice man, but he was in charge. He was; no one else, just him. He knew everything; but he didn't know he was beginning to develop the mindset of a certain dead man...

* * *

Connor awoke and saw that Aaron was already awake. He looked uneasy, and looked to see the other members waking up. Calvin was already preaching about the Lord keeping them safe and some other bull shit. Calvin eyed Connor, his stare making him uneasy. No one could tell what this stare meant, but whatever it was, it wasn't good...

* * *

Sammy awoke to the sound of knocking at her bedroom door. "Come in!" she said, and a familiar face entered; it was Jonah.

"Morning; sleep well?" he asked.

Sammy nodded. "You bet," she said as she stretched. "You won't believe how long it's been since I've slept in an actual bed."

Jonah smiled back inching closer to the bed. "Good. Can we talk? Emma was pretty pissed that I didn't talk to more info from you last night," Jonah said.

"Sure; let's talk."

 **If I had a dollar for every draft I deleted for this chapter, I'd be rich. Probably within the next few chapters, the story will get better. I just feel like this isn't turning out as great as I intended it to be. But nonetheless, I'm still trying to make it work.**

 **Important: If a character's name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. If they're in normal text, they're unknown. For those who are dead, they appear in reverse order of when they died (i.e. Staci was the first death, so she's last, then Justin is second-to-last, and so forth).**

 **Shawn's Group:**

 **Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Scarlett, Rodney, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, Lightning, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, DJ, Tyler, LeShawna, Eva, Noah, Trent, Gwen, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Cody, Sierra, Alejandro, Connor, Chuck, Nicole, Vince, Gareth, Abraham,** _Chef,_ _Roger,_ _Cameron, B, Heather, Chelsea, Amy, Chris, Topher, Beardo, Dakota, Miguel, Dawn, Kenny, Ella, Ezekiel, Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci_

 **Travis's Group:**

 **Joshua, Miles, Ryan,** _Cooper, Pete, Brian, Stephanie, Travis, Blake, Nathan, Tanner, Sal, Larry_

 **Duncan's Group:**

 **Duncan, Hannah, Devin**

 **Calvin's Cult:**

 **Calvin, Ennui, Crimson, Aaron, Marcy, 6 other unnamed members**


	19. Update

**Hey guys, how's life? It's been almost two months since my last update, but I have something to clear up. First off, school's almost over, so I'm trying to wrap up some stuff before I continue with my writing. Second, the eighteen chapters I already have posted are about to undergo some revisioning (especially the first ten or so), which will take a while to complete. This is partly due to some suggestions that I've received from a few writers, as well as my own distaste for my lack of a decent writing style near the beginning chapters. One of these revisions will be replacing Eva with Connor in chapters 16-18. I thought I could do something with her, but I feel like Connor seemed like a better shot (but I have some stuff planned for Eva). I probably won't post the next update until the end of the month, hopefully.**

 **Anyway, thanks for your patience, and I'll see you next time.**


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